Bought
by stripeykitty
Summary: Sometimes I remember who I am. Sometimes I can see home, right there, in front of me, but I know it's not real, just my fevered imaginings. Most of the time I wish I was dead. -Join Tea as she tries to get home and uncover who she really is- -Some upsetting scenes and could be a trigger- -Probably not going to be what you think it is, so give it a go, you may be surprised!-
1. Bought

Sometimes I remember who I am.  
Sometimes I can see home, right there, in front of me, but I know it's not real, just my fevered imaginings.  
Most of the time I wish I was dead.  
"I'm just a girl!" I would scream out, but no one would listen to me, no one understood the language I spoke.  
I am a teenager from Earth, my pod number is 2286 and my name is a distant memory. I am female and around the age of 18, now, but it is impossible to tell. I was taken at the age of 15, that I remember clearly.  
They came to me in the night, breaking my window and dragging me out into a blinding light. Then there was a ship, like none I'd seen before. A glowing silver orb that opened and I was pushed inside by my kidnapper. Then there had been jolting movement and then it stopped. Then the door opened once again and I was dragged out into another place. A terrible place.  
I had been blindfolded and there had been pain all over me and I had screamed. Then I was alone, in the pod that was now my home. For the last three years. A place I'd felt safe because every time the door opened and I was dragged out, _they_ would take me and beat me and do... terrible things to me.  
They were by no means human. They had blue skin and four eyes. Their figure seemed human, but distorted by longer arms that came to their knees. They wore strange boiler suits in black and beneath the boiler suits was thin but tough blue skin that you could see their organs beneath. Their teeth in their wide mouths were like a sharks.  
I had been in my pod for a week straight, now, but knew that at any point they would remove me and do things to me again. My body ached from the last time, still, their clawed fingers had left deep welts in my skin as they'd reached completion.  
I was curled on the soft cushion that was my bed when I heard a noise outside of my pod. My eyes flew open and I braced myself for something horrible when the door whooshed open. In came one of the aliens that had chosen me many times before, his suit much more decorated, so I supposed he was in charge. He grabbed hold of my long hair, pulling me up. When I was on my feet he took hold of my upper arm and shackled me, my hands behind my back. Then he tied a blindfold about my eyes.  
For a terrible moment I thought that he was going to do things to me again, in a different way, a way I had no control. But he took hold of my arm and dragged me from the room. I walked, my bare feet feeling the cold ships floor with every step, my naked body shivering with fright and the cold.  
I heard other noises around me, others walking, some whimpers and sobs. No sound escaped my lips. I hadn't spoken in three years. I'd given up trying to communicate after the first month here.  
I realized there must be others here, too. Others like me. The alien guiding me ran a claw down my cheek in what might have been a loving way, but to me it felt anything but.  
Then we suddenly stopped. A voice spoke and there were chorused replies around me. Then I heard doors open and the sound of hustle and bustle of loads of people going about their business filled my ears. I was led forwards and down a ramp, cold wind pulling at my body and what felt like cobble stones beneath my feet. Then the alien leading me took off my blindfold and the sudden light stung my eyes, but I eagerly looked about me, hoping to find myself home.  
Around me there were other aliens, of all shapes and sizes, all different dress carrying strange things and talking different languages. We appeared to be at a market, telling from all of the stalls around. We didn't stop, I was pulled along into the crowd. I looked behind me, seeing girls and boys my age and older being pulled along, their blindfolds still in place. For a brief moment I wondered why I was allowed to see, but this thought was pushed from my mind as we pushed past a huge alien, its arms bulging with muscles.  
The aliens were starting to stare. I felt horribly like a freak show as I was led through them and to the center of the market. There was a fenced off area into which I was led. In uniform lines were posts with chains on. I was led through these to the furthest corner, where the alien threaded the chain through my bound hands.  
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man, dressed in a tweed jacket and red braces. He had a bow-tie. His eyes were thoughtful and kind. They were... old. My thoughts were pulled from the strange human-looking man and back to the alien at my side. Then it spoke to me, running its claw down my cheek. And for the first time I understood what it said.  
"It is such a shame to give up such a delicate beauty," he said to me, grinning to show his sharp teeth, "if I had enough credits to buy you myself, I would have you in an instant. You were always my favorite."  
Around me the others were chained to the posts, all but four, who were led to the podium in the middle of the posts, where a short, grey alien stood, a microphone in hand.  
"A job lot of fine specimens!" he said into the microphone, though I knew there was no way he was speaking Earth English.  
Aliens started to converge around the fences, looking in at the four blindfolded people.  
"hall we start at fifty credits?"  
This was an auction. We were being sold. I had been dragged from my home to this alien world to be sold to the highest bidder. My heart turned cold and I tested the chains I was attached to. They were sturdy.  
The first lot of people sold for eighty four credits. I saw many sold and taken away by strange aliens. Many were sold as a group, until there were but ten of us left. Only I was able to see. To my left I saw the man again, he looked pained as he watched the last lot being taken away.  
After that the other nine were sold one by one, the auctioneer claiming that they were more valuable, more special than the others. Then there was just me.  
The alien undid my restraints and pulled me to the center of the fenced off area. There were some stark differences between me and the others sold. I had long hair, whilst the others had been cut short. My eyes were also blue, something different to the others who had had dark eyes.  
"This is the most prized lot!" pronounced the auctioneer, "Just look at her! Such an Earth beauty! She has traveled three light years to reach this place and such a grand thing! This is no slave for doing work, this is a slave for prize possession! Starting at one hundred credits! Such a low price!"  
The bidding's went higher and higher and I felt I might be sick. I looked to the alien who held onto my arm, clearing my throat and speaking in my unused voice.  
"Please," I croaked in a language that I knew was not English, "please release me. I don't want to be sold!"  
"You speak Krisptick?" he asked, his eyes widening.  
"Please," I begged, "please. Save me!"  
"All this time," he growled, "I told myself it was all right to sell you. You aren't an intelligent life form, I would say. But you speak a proper language. Now I am not so sure."  
"Then save me!" I whispered.  
"Too late."  
"Sold! To the male in tweed! For one thousand and forty three credits!"  
I looked to see the man I had spotted earlier walking into the fenced off area, taking hold of my upper arm and pulling me to the podium. He handed over some small disks to the grey alien and then took me from the arena. I struggled against his grip, but he held me tightly.  
"Stop struggling," he said to me in English, "I'm trying to get you out of here."  
I stopped my fighting and looked at him in bemusement as he led me through the crowds of admiring aliens.  
"Are you human, too?" I asked in a tiny voice.  
"Far from it," he said seriously, "but let's not talk about that here. I need to get you away from here."  
"Oi! Mister!" shouted a voice behind us.  
The man stopped and turned.  
"Yes?" he said, a strange smile on his lips.  
It was the alien that had had hold of me.  
"She's special," he said, nodding at me.  
"That's why I chose her," said the man cryptically.  
"You forgot to get her branded," said the alien.  
Before I could flinch away, the alien had grabbed my arm and pressed something against my skin which burnt my flesh. I screamed out, but no-one turned to look. When I pulled my hand away it had a oval on it with a symbol inside it which looked like a strange 'B'.  
The man who had bought me gently pulled my arm and dragged me through the crowds. I glanced back once at the face of the alien that had trapped me and raped me. Then I turned away and resolved to never look back. Good riddance.  
Then we came to an abrupt stop, in front of a large blue box with the words 'Police public call Box' on it. The man looked at me and smiled, opening the door and pushing me inside gently. I went in and stopped.  
"It's bigger on the inside," I whispered.  
"Yeah," said the man behind me, closing the door, "itn's she great?"  
I nodded, looking around in amazement.  
"Oh, by the way," said the man, stepping around me and jumping up onto the platform in the center of the room where there was a control panel, "I'm the Doctor."  
I looked at him, thinking that he didn't look like any doctor I ever remembered.  
"Who are you?" he asked, leaning on the panel.  
I felt my throat constrict.  
"I don't remember. All I remember is it started with a 'T'. What's going to happen to me? Why did you buy me?"  
Suddenly he looked sad, then smiled.  
"Because I need a friend," he said.  
"Do you not have any?" I croaked.  
"Not anymore... they had to... go."  
I looked at him and his deceptively young face showed the weight of the ages.  
"What now?" I asked.  
"Well, first I think you need some clothes, because I don't often have naked women in the control room, it scares me. Except this one lady called Pocahontas, now she was a naughty girl. Liked doing cartwheels. Now, let's get this show of the road!"


	2. First Stop

He gave me clothes and they felt strange against my skin. Then he went onto the podium and started to flip switches and pull levers. After a few moments the box started to shake and make strange groaning screaming noises, jerking around. The Doctor ran around the controls laughing and shouting in excitement, but I felt no joy what-so-ever, gripping the railing tightly.  
Then it stopped and he turned to me, grinning.  
"Right then, Miss. Tea," he said to me, "I'm going to take you to the Shadow Proclamation, where you are going to testify."  
"Testify?" I asked, my voice feeling tired.  
"Yes," he said, jumping down from the platform and coming to face me, "because what they did to you and the other humans is against intergalactic regulations and you have to testify."  
"I can't talk for too long," I said, my voice all scratchy.  
"Don't worry," he said, waving a hand, "they have telepathy, they'd have to read your mind anyway. Now, you need some rest, big day tomorrow... Or whenever it is. Come along Pon- ugh, Miss. Tea, I will show you to your room."  
For a moment he looked pained, but then smiled again. I followed him up some stairs and down several corridors. This place was so big. Then we came to a door.  
"Ah ha!" he said, "I thought as much! New door, new room... She must really like you! Well, she did choose you..."  
I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but winced and closed it.  
He opened the door to the room and gestured for me to go in. I stepped into the doorway, looking around anxiously. There was a large four-poster bed, dark paneled wood walls, a door that was open that led to a bathroom with a swimming pool like bath and another that led to a huge walk in wardrobe. He went in ahead of me and looked around, hands on hips, looking around.  
"My goodness, she really does like you. Is that- Oh, old girl, you're putting up my artwork from De Glom?" he said, shaking his head, smiling.  
I saw what he must have been talking about. There were two paintings on the wall that had a strange shinny lustre about them. Their subject matter was a man in a lion skin, standing tall, with a bow-tie on...  
"They're a good likeness," I croaked.  
"Get your head down, Tea," he said with a soft smile,"I'll be in the control room if you need me. I'm sure the old girl'll help you out if you get lost, she's good like that. She seems to like you."  
I had no idea what he was on about, but smiled and nodded. He backed out of the room and made a move to close the door.  
"No!" I squeaked, wincing.  
"Oh, right, sorry," he said, "after being in that room so long... yeah... Personally I didn't sleep with my door closed for months after the last time. But can you blame me? Especially when my cell mate was a very angsty Grositan, not a fan of humor. Anyway, sleep well!"  
I watched him go with anxious eyes, then clambered into the bed, feeling the feathery sheets around me. I hadn't slept in blankets back on that ship. My pod had been a constant temperature and it had been just right. This room was warm and comfortable. I loved it.

I woke up with a jolt, looking around myself in horror, wondering where I was. Then everything rushed back to me and I realised that there was nothing to be afraid of. Sort of.  
I stretched and rose, rubbing my eyes. I went into the bathroom and took a bath in that giant bath, splashing around and having a generally good time.  
I got dressed and hugged myself a little, rejoicing in the feel of the fabric against my skin. Then it happened. I heard a noise to my left and I jumped horribly as the mirror on the wall that had previously been a flat black colour flickered and came to life. There was a face there. I went towards it cautiously, my curiosity burning.  
It was a female face, pretty and smooth with blue hair that was swept back and ruby red lips. The eyes were closed. I reached out a tentative hand, touching the surface. It was smooth and warm. Her face looked as though it was just behind a pane of glass.  
"So you are the one I chose," spoke the face.  
I jumped back, eyes wide, heart in my throat.  
"Speak, child, I want to hear what you sound like."  
"Wh- who are you?" I choked out.  
"I am TARDIS. Who are you?"  
"I-I don't remember anything other than the letter 'T'."  
"I know. I was merely being polite. You must come to the control room. Follow the orbs."  
I turned and sure enough there was a glowing orb floating about three feet in the air. As I aproached it, it popped, like a bubble, then another appeared, just at my door. I glanced back at the mirror that had held the face of TARDIS, but she was gone. So I continued to follow the orbs, which would pop when I approached.  
I vaguely wondered if this was a trap, but if it was, what did I have to lose? I had been taken from my home and flown across space. If I died now, what would it matter? It would mean nothing else could happen to me.  
I eventually reached that first room I had been in, the control room. The Doctor was leaning against a section of the railing, book in hand. It was upside down.  
"Ah! Good morning-afternoon-evening-whatever time it is, miss Tea!" he said, closing the book and chucking it over his shoulder.  
"Hello," I replied quietly, "TARDIS told me to come to the control room."  
"She told you? How? She can't talk. Well, there was this one time when she was put into a body and oh-ho! That was some fun."  
I shrugged, having the feeling that I shouldn't tell him about the mirror."  
"Well, anyway, I got a message!" he said, grinning.  
"A message?" I asked.  
"Yes! Look!" he turned a screen on the controls to face me.  
I climbed the steps and looked at the screen, reading the words I knew weren't human.

_Help me, please help me. They are coming for me. Please help me. _

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise.  
"And how is that good?" I croaked.  
"Well, it does mean we're going to have to postpone our trip to the Shadow Proclamation. It means an adventure, Tea!"  
I felt a tingling in my stomach and smiled a little at his excitement.  
"Well, what're we waiting for, now that you're awake!" he said, prancing around the controls, pressing buttons and flicking switches.  
There was a shudder through the ship and a terrible groaning noise. I grabbed onto the railing as we lurched into movement. It was terrible, but the Doctor was having great fun, dancing around the control panel, hitting things and pushing buttons and pulling levers. The we came to a bone shuddering stop and I fell to the floor on hands and knees.  
"Come on Tea! Oh-" he said, spotting me on the floor, "I always forget that the first time can be a bit tough."  
He came over to me and held out his hand, which I took. He pulled me up and grinned at me.  
"There, see? No harm done!"  
I mumbled a little that that wash rubbish, but he pretended not to hear.  
"Come along, Po-" he said, a moment of sadness flashing across his face, then corrected to- "Miss Tea. We have an adventure waiting for us."  
He ran down the ramp to the door and pushed it open, stepping out of it. I stood for a moment, before I could stand the curiosity any longer and followed down the ramp. I stood at the doorway and looked out cautiously.  
Outside the space ship there was a small room. It looked like an office, with a desk against one wall and filling cabinets on the other. It all looked brand new. There was even plastic wrapping on the chair still. There was a door straight ahead of me and I gravitated towards it. The Doctor was nowhere in sight, so I supposed he was through this door. I pushed down the door handle and opened the door.  
Ahead was a huge room, like a warehouse, all in white and lit with dim florescent lights. I walked out into the room a little way and the door closed behind me.  
"Doctor?" I called out in my scratchy voice.  
That's when a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the ground.


	3. In the claws of the enemy

I opened my mouth to scream, but choked on the air I took in. I struggled against the grip and turned to look at the face of my captor. Then I had to look again. They had a cats face. The eyes were human, but the rest was cat. Their body was human in shape and I could see rather a lot of it, seeing as he way naked. But I just couldn't get over the fact that they had a cat face and the fear that leaked from them.  
"Keep it down," they breathed, "do you want them to find us?"  
"Who's 'them'?" I whispered back.  
"Did you hit your head or something?" they hissed, "_Them_, the ones that trapped us here."  
"I-I don't come from around here," I murmured back.  
"None of us do," said the cat person, rolling their eyes, "that's the _point_. They're holding us against our will."  
"No, I mean I just arrived, I'm with a man named the Doctor. I'm from Earth."  
"Earth?" whispered the cat person, "What quadrant is that in? I've never heard of it before."  
"It's in the Milky Way," I mumbled, confused.  
"That primitive place?" snorted the cat, "Don't know why they'd want to pick you up."  
"I'm human," I growled, "I'm not primitive."  
"A human?" they said thoughtfully, "I heard that they-"  
The cat person stopped talking, turning towards the rest of the warehouse. I listened carefully, hearing footsteps coming this way, shouting.  
"Crap," growled the cat, "they found us. Come on, we have to get out of here!"  
"This way," I mumbled, leading him to the door I'd just come through.  
When we stepped inside I found the Doctor standing there, looking very worried.  
"Ah, Miss Tea, there you are!" he said joyfully, "Thought I'd lost you for a little while there! And who's this?"  
"I'm, ugh, Rauwl," said the cat person.  
"Excellent! Now, the old girl says that we're in the middle of the Crictah section of the Rimmet quadrant. You're a long way from Shrilton, Rauwl. Two light years, in fact."  
"Shrilton was attacked and we were enslaved," said Rauwl, "everyone knows this."  
"No, not me," said the Doctor, his face turning cold, "I didn't know. This is going to stop. Slavery is against every right."  
"You can't stop it, it's too late, this is the last prison ship destined for the markets of Trom and by the looks of it your human friend has already been there," hissed Rauwl.  
I covered the brand on my hand and looked away. We were headed towards that dreadful place again.  
"How can this keep happening?" muttered the Doctor, mostly to himself, "Where are the Shadow Proclamation? This doesn't make sense. Shrilton is a Class 6 planet! They can't do this."  
"Doctor?" I murmured.  
"What?" he snapped, but his look softened when he saw the fear in my eyes.  
"If Rauwl's planet was invaded and enslaved, what about Earth?"  
"No, they were selective on Earth. I don't know why you were so special to pick out, but I intend to find out why. You were the prize possession of the Krisptick, but why?"  
"I'm nothing special," I murmured.  
"On the contrary, I think that there must be something very special about you."  
There was noise outside of the door, shouting and pounding footsteps. The door flew open and in came a pair of the aliens I remembered as my captors, gun barrels pointed at us. I felt like my heart had stopped as I stared at the Kripstick monsters that had taken so many from their homes.  
"Afternoon!" said the Doctors, clapping his hands together and smiling, "I believe you've met my friends here, but you haven't met me. I'm the Doctor."

"Well, that went well," said the Doctor, laying on his back in the white cell.  
I ran over to the door and pounded on it with my fists, screaming. Both things I had done the first time I woke up in this cell. I closed my eyes and slid down the wall with a sigh, composing myself, knowing none of this would do any good. Rauwl stood over the Doctor, a snarl on his face.  
"I managed to escape and now I'm back in here! Thanks to you and your stupid human friend."  
My eyes flew open.  
"Excuse me?" I said quietly.  
"You heard me!" said Rauwl defiantly.  
"Watch your tongue, cat boy, or I''l tear it from your mouth," I snarled, "I spent three light years in a cell like this being raped and beaten by those monsters. I was taken from my home in the middle of the night and taken into a strange place with no knowledge of their language or what they were. I have more right to be furious about being back here than you do, seeing as I actually managed to get off the ship!"  
He hissed and I growled.  
"Enough, you two," said the Doctor, sitting up, "Rauwl, I'm, sorry we messed up your escape and Tea, I'm really sorry that we ended up back on this ship. But right now we can't afford to be divided. Now, hug and make up."  
We both looked down at the Doctor.  
"Okay, so don't hug and make up, it was just a suggestion."  
The door whooshed open and in stepped one of the aliens I remembered, the alien that had held onto me as I'd been sold. He looked at me and his eyes widened. He looked older, in some ways, around the eyes and heavier in the face and he wore a different, more ornate uniform.  
"You!" he exclaimed at seeing me.  
My eyes darkened as I glared at him, "Yes, me."  
"It's been ten years and yet you are still young and beautiful, yet I have aged and become captain of this vestal. How?"  
I wanted to look at the Doctor, but resisted. I glared at the alien and he turned to the Doctor.  
"A stow away," said the captain, "and not just any stow away, the man that bought the beautiful human female. What are you doing on my ship?"  
The Doctor jumped up to his feet, grinning.  
"Sorry about that," he said jovially, "got stark raving drunk and wanted a place to sleep it off, found the ship and staggered into the hold. You know what it's like, surely, lots of stress at work and all that and wow-" the Doctor stopped as a gun was pointed at his face, "that's a big gun and I would really appreciate it if you pointed it away from me, they have this bad habit of going off."  
"We haven't been in a port for three weeks," said the captain, "so unless you have been sleeping for a very long time, I think you have boarded our ship without our knowledge. As such, I have the full right to shoot you, seeing as you are clearly a pirate trying to steal away our cargo."  
At the last part he nodded towards Rauwl, who wisely said nothing.  
"He isn't cargo," I said over the top of the Doctor, who had opened his mouth to speak, "he is a living, sentient being! You can't do this!"  
The captain turned to me, his four eyes ablaze.  
"Such strong words for a female in your position. If I were you, and I am eternally grateful I am not, I would keep my mouth shut."  
"I kept my mouth shut for three years!" I bellowed, "What good did that do me? None!"  
The captain raised his hand to strike me, but I didn't flinch. We glared at one another, then he grinned, revealing rows of sharp teeth.  
"How strong. You will be spared."  
He turned away from me again and I felt slightly confused as to what just happened.  
"Now, as I was saying," said the captain, "I do have the full right to kill you. However, I shan't, seeing as I hear from my crew that you are a doctor and as such, we may be able to come to an agreement."  
"What sort of agreement?" said the Doctor suspiciously, "Because the last time I agreed to something that I didn't know the terms of I ended up tied to a bed by the Queen of Moorway."  
"If you work for us, we will let you go at the next port in three weeks time. As simple as that. If you choose not to, we shall kill you."  
"And what about my companion?" said the Doctor, nodding towards me.  
"She is property and as such, I will buy her from you for the same amount you paid me. If you disagree, then I shall simply take her from you, seeing as you have boarded our ship without permission and she seems the perfect repayment for this crime."  
"No, I won't take your credits," said the Doctor, "she is my companion and a sentient person."  
The captain shrugged.  
"Have it your way," he said.  
He grabbed my upper arm and pulled me to the cell door, dragging me out into the hallway.  
"My crew will come for you in a while, doctor, in the mean time, make yourself comfortable."  
Then the captain closed the door and dragged me with him. I fought against him, but his grip was like iron and I didn't stand a chance. He pulled me into an elevator and we started traveling upwards. It took what felt like an age in the elevator with this creature, his eager eyes looking over my body. I shivered at the memories that were still fresh in my mind. I forced myself to be calm, because I knew, somehow, that I would escape this. Then I would release the Doctor and even Rauwl and we would go to the Shadow Proclamation, whoever that was, and testify. And then-  
Then what? Could I just go home after all of this? And what had the alien meant when he had said it had been ten years since I had been sold? Was that ship more than just a space ship? I suppose it must be. The Doctor talked about strange people from all over the universe and he had mentioned Pocahontas, who was a figure from history. So he could maybe ever take her back in time to the night she was taken away and it would be as though nothing had ever happened. But was that what she wanted, really?  
The elevator doors pinged open and he led her out onto a platform that ran the long length of a huge room. Beneath them aliens worked, carrying boxes and crates. Some looked up as we made our way across the thin platform, but looked away pretty quickly. At the end was a door, which swished open at our approach. Inside was a richly decorated office room with a bedroom through a door and beyond that a bathroom.  
"Sit," instructed the captain, pushing me towards the sofa.  
I fell onto its soft cushions and watched as he closed and locked the door. Then he turned to look at me, a fire in his eyes.  
"Now let's see if you are as fun as I remember," he said, grinning.

I really appreciate any feedback! Thanks for reading this.


	4. Run

I laid sprawled out on the bed, my body aching and stinging from the scratches and bruises that were beginning to form. I had stopped crying a while ago, the tears had dried on my face. Each breath was shuddering and painful. I didn't know where the Captain had gone, but he hadn't returned and I was grateful for that, at least.

I knew I should move about and try to find a way out, but I doubted he would have left me a way out. It was hopeless.

I shook myself and sat up. No. I would not be like that. I would search for a way out, I would not give up.

I stood unsteadily on my feet and staggered about the room, looking for something I could wear seeing as the alien had ripped my clothing to shreds when I had struggled to get away. I found one of the uniforms in the bedroom hanging up, so I zipped it up and felt better for being clothed.

"Right then," I said to myself, setting my mouth in a serious line, "time to get out of here."

I left the bedroom and went to the door, testing it with my palms. It wouldn't budge. I gritted my teeth, pushing and pulling at the door, but it wouldn't open. I growled and went to a table in the corner of the room, picking up an ornate vase, throwing it at the door, watching it smash into a million fragments. I inspected the damage, but it was minimal. I looked around, going back to the table, picking it up and charging at the door, table legs first. I closed my eyes as it impacted, the wood splintering and the door breaking. I grinned.

I peered ut of the doorway onto the thin platform that ran above the work-space below. No one was coming this way and with all of the noise of the work space bellow, nobody had noticed my escape. Perfect.

I moved quickly along the platform, praying that nobody looked up. Luck seemed to be on my side. For now, at least. I reached the door at the other side with no complications, pushing through it quickly. I ran down the corridor, looking for signs or something that would direct me. I found several at the end of the corridor. I followed the one that pointed towards the medical base, that seemed the logical place for the Doctor to be taken.

Halfway through following the signs my luck ran out and I came across two of my captors, walking this way, talking and laughing. There was no way to get away from them and they spotted me seconds after I saw them. They looked confused for a moment, then drew their weapons.

"Hold it there!" shouted one of them.

"Hold what, where?" I asked, looking around, toying with them.

"Put your hands behind your head!"

"You want me to do what? I'm sorry, I'm not that kind of girl."

"Don't give us crap, girl," said one, cocking the weapon.

"Look, I'm just trying to find the Captain, I'm his female," I tried to keep the disgust from my voice.

They came towards me and something in the back of my mind, almost like a memory, kicked me into gear and I lashed out, my fist connecting with the chin of the first and my leg swinging out, taking out the ankles of the second. Both went down heavily and I leaped over them and ran, not looking back.

I followed the signs to the medical base and eventually found it. The doors whooshed open at my approach and I breathed a sigh of relief. There was the Doctor, a man I was quickly learning was both very intelligent and absolutely idiotic. He looked up from the computer he was working on with a hand held machine thing. A Sonic Screwdriver, my brain supplied. How did I know that?

"Ah! Miss. Tea, nice of you to join us again," he said, buzzing the screwdriver on again.

I came forwards, looking around the base carefully. There were three conscious aliens on tables dotted around the room.

"They just left you here?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, "well, not really, no."

"Doctor..." I said.

"Tea?" he replied.

"What do you mean 'not really'?"

"What are you, my mother?" he said, going back to what he was doing.

I muttered darkly to myself and looked over his shoulder at the screen.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Checking the records of the prisoners and downloading them onto the TARDIS."

I thought about the woman's face from earlier in the mirror.

"So TARDIS is your spaceship?" I asked.

"Yes, she is," he said, slapping the screen of the computer.

"She has a very beautiful face," I said quietly.

He stopped and looked at me searchingly. I looked back at him and smiled a little. He scanned me with the screwdriver and flicked it, reading its scan. Then looking up with a furrowed brow.

"But that's not possible, that's not-"

We were interrupted by the doors at one end of the medical base opening and the pair of guards I'd knocked down barged in.

"That's our cue, I reccon," I said, grabbing his hand.

He looked around at the guards.

"I reckon you're right!" he said as I pulled him towards the other set of doors.

"Sorry," I said as we ran down the corridor beyond the doors, "I was a bit of a naughty girl... I think I upset the guards."

He laughed and we ran together. We ran as fast and as far as we could and by some miracle we ended up by the cells. I went to door number 65 and punched the opening button. It swooshed open and I yelled in at Rauwl.

"Come on kitty, we haven't got much time!"

He looked around and stood quickly, stumbling out of the cell.

"What now?" he asked as pounding footsteps came towards us.

"Run," said me and the Doctor in unison.

The Doctor looked at me strangely and I took hold of Rauwls hand.

"What are you waiting for? A written invitation from the queen? Let's GO!"

I tugged him onward, the Doctor running beside me.

"That's my line," he panted, "no-one ever says my line, it's mine."

"Do you really want to argue right now?" I gasped back.

He muttered something but we continued running. We came to that warehouse space where we'd first landed. We went directly through the door to the office area where that blue box stood. The Doctor shoved a key in the lock and pushed the door open. We all rushed in and I slammed the door behind us.

"Time to get out of here," said the Doctor, hitting a few buttons.

The TARDIS wheezed into action and we shook and bumped around like beads in a rattle.

"Hold onto something!" I called to Rauwl, who flung himself on the railing.

I staggered around the console and held onto the Doctors arm, hitting the blue button out of instinct. Instantly the TARDIS stopped bumping and screaming, her journey evening out.

"What did you do? Why did you do that?" demanded the Doctor.

I looked at him, panicked, releasing his arm.

"No one touches the console, no one, do you understand? You could have killed all of us!"

I felt tears spring into my eyes and I tried to hold them back as best as I could.

"Stabilizers," I whimpered out.

"What? What did you say?" he demanded, coming towards me, looking at me intently.

I backed away a bit, panting.

"S-stabilizers," I gasped, fighting fear.

"There's only one person that could know that and you're not her, not in the slightest, not at all."

I backed away and turned, running up the stairs, not looking back. I ran into the belly of TARDIS, through the twisting corridors. I eventually staggered to a stop, leaning against a door which buzzed open and I fell into. The door buzzed shut after me and I sat up in pitch blackness. After a moment of my panicked sobs a dim blue light started to illuminate the room. I stood up and looked around myself, heart in throat. In the center of the room was a mirror, suspended by apparently thin air. I walked cautiously towards it, stopping dead when it flickered into life.

"Hello again, Tea," said the beautiful face of TARDIS.

"Hello TARDIS," I responded.

"I apologize for him," she said with a small smile of those ruby red lips, "he never does know quite how to handle females. He used to hit me with a mallet on his 10th."

I winced a little.

"But you will be glad to know that he is feeling some kind of remorse, now," she said, "he's searching my cameras, looking for you. He won't find you, you're with me in a safe room. There are no cameras here."

"Why is he being so hostile suddenly?" I whispered.

"Because he's starting to notice that you're more than human. He's starting his journey on figuring out who you are, why I chose you like I did."

"Why did you choose me?" I asked quietly.

TARDIS's lips turned upwards in a smile.

"That is something that I cannot tell you. It has to be lived."

Then I felt a light around me and I was gone from that room and was in my bedroom. I looked around, confused, but pleased to be in what I thought of as my own special safe place.


	5. Time for Tea

I woke up and stretched, then climbed down from my bed. There was a steaming cup of tea on the desk. Smiling I picked it up, taking a cautious sip. It was perfect. I hummed to myself as I got dressed in jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt, folding my night dress and putting it back on my bed in pride of place. Clothes are so good.

I sighed to myself. I guess it was time to go and face him.

Sluggishly I made my way down the corridors, head lowered, wondering what on earth I was going to say. I stopped suddenly, noticing a door open to my left. I cocked my head to the side, none of these doors were ever open. I went to close the big old wooden door only to be distracted by the interior of the room. It was wood paneled and, for want of a better description, it was tidy and neat. Everything in place. Apart from a large gramophone. I grinned to myself, coming into the room eagerly. I looked around to make sure I was alone, then ran my hand over the polished wood. I loved gramophones.

I don't remember how I came to love gramophones, I don't really remember much about my family or house, but I suppose we must of had one. I looked around and found a box of the big old vinyls, flicking through them carefully. I pulled one in particular out and sighed, taking it over to the gramophone. I cranked the handle on its side, winding up the mechanism. When it was wound enough I put the vinyl onto it, lowering the arm into place and pressing the button to start it.

Instantly the soothing sound of Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade filled my ears. I closed my eyes and smiled, letting it wash over me, swaying to it gently. As it came to an end I sighed, stopping it and lifting the arm up, turning the vinyl over, starting it all over again, this time the quicker 'In the mood' started up, also by Glenn Miller. I couldn't help but turn it up and dance a little to it, letting out a disused laugh as I did so. Nothing could beat the scratchy quality of a gramophone. It has something else about it.

I became aware of someone watching me. I turned around wide eyed and saw the Doctor leaning in the doorway, watching me with consentraighting scowl on his face. As the song came around again to the main part I felt a searing pain in the fore front of my mind. I fell to my knees, squeezing my eyes shut, whimpering. I caught a flash of an image and then it was gone. In an instant the Doctor was by my side, helping me up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, truly concerned.

"Th-there was a girl," I mumbled, "a girl with blond hair. A Union Jack t-shirt."

An emotion flickered across the Doctors face before it shut down and went blank. I rubbed my eyes and looked around groggily. The Doctor put a hand on my shoulder gently and led me from the room. I obediently let him guide me to the main control room where I shrugged his hand off and went to the console, running my hand over TARDIS's control panel.

"Who are you?" asked the Doctor behind me quietly.

I turned to look at him, confused.

"I'm Tea," I said.

"No, no, you don't understand," he said calmly, but I could see a storm brewing beneath the surface, "I don't know who you are. Who are you?"

"I-I-I-"

"What are you? You're human but my Sonic picked up something else on you. Wait, wait, how could I be so stupid?"

He paced up and down, frustrated. Then from his inside pocket he pulled out a pair of 3D glasses, putting them on and looking at me. Then took them off, then on again.

"This is worse than I thought," he mumbled, stashing the glasses away in his pocket.

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

"I should get you out of here, now," he said, "we're going to the nearest planet and I am leaving you there. I don't need this, not so soon after- after-"

"But what about the Shadow Proclamation? You can't just leave me on a planet! You can't do this!"

But it was too late, he was already at the panel, hitting buttons and pulling levers and TARDIS roared into life, her lights flashing as Doctor piloted her through space. Sparks started to fly from her controls and her materializing sound started to sound painful and angry.

"Are you having a strop at me?!" yelled the Doctor over the noise.

The TARDIS groaned and moaned and then just stopped. The lights seemed to dim a little and the noise died down to a gentle hum.

"So that's how it is, is it?" demanded the Doctor.

"She chose me," I said softly, "she told me she chose me for a reason."

"What do you mean, she told you?"

"She has a face, a face in a mirror," I said, looking at him with tearful eyes, "and she is beautiful. She told me that you will work out why she chose me. But she won't tell me why. Why are you so scared of me?"

He looked surprised for a moment, then he frowned.

"I'm not scared of you, I just don't need the problems you're bringing to me. I don't need this! I didn't ask the TARDIS to choose you! I didn't ask for this! I don't want a companion anymore!"

There was a silence as we both stood glaring at one another.

"When you bought me," I said quietly, "I asked you why you did it. You told me that it was because you needed a friend."

The Doctor sighed and turned his back on me.

"You can stay," he said, "but if I find out who you are and it's not good, you'll be out of the TARDIS before you can say 'Jammy Dodgers'."

"Thank you," I murmured, walking past him.

"Oh, and Tea," he said.

I stopped but didn't turn around.

"How did you know about Rose?"

"The blond girl? I don't know. It was something that just came to me, like a memory."

Then I walked away, trying to escape his assessing gaze. I wandered down the corridor and found Rauwl wandering around looking lost, a tunic hanging off him in a sad sort of way.

"What's up kitty boy?" I asked.

"What do you think?" he sighed.

"We are both pretty far from home," I said, touching his furry arm gently.

"At least you could go home if you wanted to," he mumbled, shrugging her away, "my home was pillaged by the Kripstick. There's no one to go back to. Just me."

"The Doctor will make things right, I'm sure of it," I said strongly.

"How long have you known the doctor?" he asked.

"Too long, it feels like," I said, laughing and surprising myself at the sound.

Rauwl smiled a little, but I could see he was still down.

"Come on," I said, taking his hand, "lets go find something to eat."

No matter how much I tossed and turned I couldn't get to sleep. Something was bothering me no end. How had I seen that girl, Rose? Who was she? Why had the Doctor been so shocked that I had seen her?

Whatever the reasons, I knew something strange was starting to happen around here and I was the epicentre. What was so special about me? I was just an Earth girl, after all.

I heard a noise that jolted me from my thoughts. It sounded like plates clinking together in the corner of my room. I clambered from my bed, following the noise to the mirror TARDIS had first appeared to me in.

I looked into the fram and rubbed my eyes, looking again. It was a room beyond the glass. I frowned, looking closer, trying to see beyond. It looked like a normal kitchen, it's walls painted a pale yellow and a large window showing a prim front garden through it. A man went to the sink, dropping another load of plates into the water in the bowl, making the china clink together. He had slightly spiked brown hair and wore a striped suit and a pair of converses. A woman entered the kitchen and laid a hand on his shoulder, kissing his cheek. She said something that was so muffled I didn't hear it. Then she turned her head a little and a jolt of recognition made me feel sick. It was that girl, Rose. I put my hand to the cold glass, testing it beneath my fingertips. I knocked on the glass, wondering if this was real.

Rose frowned, leaving the kitchen. I heard a door open and close, then she came back into the room, shrugging. They'd heard me! I knocked again, more frantically. Rose looked around the kitchen and then her eyes met mine and she froze. She tapped the mans shoulder and he turned, looking to see what had frightened her so much. She pointed to me and he froze too. After a moment she came towards the glass, frowning.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice distant.

"I'm Tea. You're Rose, aren't you?" I replied.

"How do you know who I am?"

"I'm on the TARDIS," I explained, "with the Doctor."

I could see her face change to surprise.

"How are you in our mirror?" she demanded.

"There's a mirror in my room and somehow TARDIS made me able to see through to you."

"But we're in another universe!" she exclaimed.

"I don't understand how it works," I said, "or how long this'll last. But please, why does the Doctor look so sad when he says your name?"

I saw tears spring to her eyes and she smiled sadly. Then she opened her mouth to reply, but suddenly she was gone and I was looking into my own reflection.

What had just happened?

Sorry it's been so long! Uni work really takes its toll on your writing. I know it's short, but after receiving Internet threats with a spoon, I decided to update it, lest someone spend all that air fare to get to the UK to attack me in my sleep with a spoon X3 Please tell me what you think!


	6. Ms Smith

With a jerk I sat upright, sweating and shivering from the remnants of my nightmare. I dreampt I was back there again. In that place. Then the tears started. This was the fifth night in a row this had happened. I'd been here for a week now, traveling through space doggedly. I knew that the Doctor could take us to the Shadow Proclamation at any time he wanted, but he was stalling. I think it must be because of me.

Through my frightened sobs I heard my door open and looked up, seeing a nervous Rauwl looking in on me, his tail flicking.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Nightmares," I muttered, wiping the tears angrily from my eyes.

He wandered into the room, standing by the side of my bed.

"Can I sit?" he asked.

I nodded and gestured or him to take a seat. He perched on the edge of the bed, his yellow eyes regarding me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he murmured.

I shrugged.

"There's nothing really to tell," I said, leaning against the head board, "it's just like the ones I have every night. Or whatever time it is."

He nodded, urging me to tell him more.

"It always starts the same way," I started, "it's a bright light and it's beautiful. And there's soft voices around me, whispering sweetly to me and I feel safe. Then there's a dimming of the light and it turns yellow, surrounding me. Then it's painful but tickley and suddenly everything goes black. Then white light fills the tiny cell and I see the alien above me, leering at me, naked. Then-then-then-"

"I think I know what happens next," interjected Rauwl softly.

I nodded. "Then he leaves and I'm looking down on myself, bloody, beaten and whimpering. Then the door opens again and another one steps in and then it all goes black and I wake up."

Rauwl looked down at his furry hands, then up at me again.

"You really suffered on the ship, didn't you?" he said.

I nodded tearfully.

"My nightmares are of when they came into our home," murmured Rauwl, making me look up at him, "they took my mother first, then my two younger sisters. My dad fought back but they shot him down. I tried to fight, but they knocked me down, then dragged me into the village square, where they were gathering all the females and children. They didn't know that I was too old to be considered a child, so they took me too, along with others my age. The screams of the mothers as their babies were wrestled from their arms haunt me even during the day. Then we were forced onto the spaceship. They forced us to strip and then we went through 'Decontamination'. It was horrible. Painful. Then I was put into that cell."

Neither of us said anything for a moment, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

"It's taking a while to get where we're going," said Rauwl casually, "you'd think this ship would be fast."

"It's not just a space ship," I said, "it's a time mashine. We could get there in minutes, if the Doctor decided to."

"Then why haven't we gone?" asked Rauwl, confused, "I want to get back to my planet! I want my family saved!"

"It's my fault," I murmured, "he doesn't trust me."

"What? Why?"

"He thinks that there's something wrong with me..."

"Hmm," Rauwl murred, appearing to be in deep thought.

We sat there for a few moments more, then Rauwl stood silently, walking to the door. He turned around, looking back at me.

"I trust you," he said, then left the room.

I rubbed my eyes, still confused.

I curled in the arm chair, book in hand, sipping a mug of tea. I had found the library by a twist of luck and found a book by Terry Pratchett, my favorite author. I was a quarter of the way through Monstrous Regiment when I heard something. A shuffling of papers, someone moving around. My heart pounded in my throat and I sprang to my feet, moving to the mirror like it was a magnet.

Through it was another room. An attic space, I supposed. There was a desk covered in paper and there was a robot dog, moving along the floor. It was very retro, with little satellite dishes for ears and had K-9 printed in big letters on it's side.

I looked to the other side of the room and saw a huge computer opened up in front of the fire place, colourful patterns scrawling across its screen. Then a woman walked into the room. She had short-ish brown hair and a beautiful friendly face. She had a bunch of papers in her hand.

"Sarah Jane," said the computer urgently, "I detect a temporal schism in the Attic."

The woman, Sarah Jane looked around.

"Where, Mr. Smith?" she asked.

"Over here, Mistress," said the metal dog in a metallic voice, his little head bobbing up and down.

Sarah Jane walked cautiously towards the mirror. Then she jumped when she saw me.

"Who are you?" she asked, coming nearer.

"I'm Tea," I said calmly, "and to get this over with quickly, I'm on the TARDIS with the Doctor. I don't know why, but she keeps opening windows in time and space, letting me see through to people that know the Doctor. Last time she showed me Rose."

"You'e so young," she said, looking sad, "not much older than my son."

"I'm 18, I think," I replied, "but I feel a lot older."

"Is there something wrong?" Sarah Jane asked.

"I don't know," I said, confused, "I think there might be."

"The TARDIS is showing you me, there must be something wrong. Why else would she do that?"

"I-I think I might be the problem," I whispered, "the Doctor doesn't trust me. But the TARDIS does."

"Why doesn't he trust you?"

"Because I somehow knew about Rose, like it was an old memory."

"You knew about Rose?"

I nodded.

"And... I..." I clasped my head in pain.

Images flashed through my mind and I looked up at Sarah Jane Smith.

"You're-you're Sarah Jane Smith," I whispered, "and I remember all about you."

The link suddenly died and I was staring back at myself and I was glowing gold mist around me. Then the mist evaporated. I shook my head, trying to comprehend the new memories, all the adventures, everything about Sarah Jane Smith.

What was this? What was going on?


	7. The Shadow Proclamation

Another week passed and I was more than just fed up of this. I'd spent most of my time avoiding the Doctor, making sure that there were no awkward or distressing encounters. Rauwl and I had struck up quite a friendship and I felt comfortable around him.

Currently I was sat in the library, curled up in one of the huge arm chairs, reading a book in my swimming costume that TARDIS had provided for me in my wardrobe. I had planned on going for a swim, but had gotten distracted by a book entitled 'Why Dogs Are Smarter Than Men'. I heard footfall and looked over the top of the book, seeing Rauwl making his way towards me, edging his way around the pool, eyeing the water warily.

"What's up, kitty boy?" I asked, upturning my book to keep the page.

"Budge over," he said, grinning.

I wiggled over and he sat down next to me, his fur tickling my bare skin. He put an arm around me casually.

"The Doctor was talking to me just now," he said, his eyes bright, "he said we'll be getting moving soon, that he hasn't been able to move due to some wibbly wobbley timey wimmey stuff."

"Couldn't remember what he said, huh?" I said grinning.

"No, that's actually what he said."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway," he said, "he asked me if I'd seen anything suspicious and I told him other than a space ship that's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, no. He wasn't too thrilled with that answer."

I laughed, something that had become easier and more natural for me to do in the last week.

"So we're going to the Shadow Proclamation?" I asked.

"Apparently," he replied, settling down more beside me.

Absentmindedly I began to stroke Rauwls belly, thinking about what was to come. Did this mean that the Doctor finally trusted me enough? Or did it mean that he was tired of waiting for something to happen? Or maybe he just wanted to get this all sorted out and take me home. Only problem was, now that I'd had time to think harder about it, I don't remember where home is.

I'd thought about it long hours into the night and I just couldn't remember where it was. I don't remember my parents or my house or my bedroom. I've got nothing. All I can remember now is being woken up in the middle of the night and taken from a room onto an alien space craft. Before that, there seemed to be nothing.

Beside me Rauwl began to purr a little, his eyes half closing. I felt warm and safe next to him. My own eyes began to droop and before I knew it I was out cold.

I was woken up by the sound of someone calling to me. Blearily I opened my eyes, finding that I'd fallen asleep on top of Rauwls belly and chest. Embarrassed, I pulled myself upright, looking around for the source of the noise. The library was dark and the only light sources were the pool, which was glowing gently, and a mirror on the other side of the room.

I felt a lot more awake all of a sudden and I staggered my way over to the mirror. And there was the beautiful face of TARDIS, waiting for me, her eyes closed and her ruby red lips upturned in a soft smile.

"Hello again, Tea," she said.

"Hello TARDIS, it's been a little while."

"Time is irrelevant here, you know that."

I smiled and touched the warm glass, wanting to touch the face beyond it.

"I would not wish such things if I were you," she said, still smiling.

I didn't want to know how she knew what I had been thinking. The very thought of someone being able to read my mind makes me shiver.

"Why are you showing yourself to me now?" I asked.

"Because I wish to talk to you. You are a kindred spirit."

"What do you mean?"

"You will find out soon enough."

I frowned, the answer unsatisfactory to me.

"Why did you show me the other companions?" I asked, "Why would you put so much energy into pushing a hole in the universe just to show me them?"

She said nothing for a moment, possibly considering what to tell me, then she answered.

"To help you remember."

"Remember what? What do you mean?"

"You have to remember who you are. You have forgotten."

"Why can't you just tell me?" I demanded, getting more frustrated by the second.

"You wouldn't believe me if I did," she said.

And in an instant, she was gone, as though the mirror had never held her face, and I was left staring at myself.

Confused, I went back to the chair, curling back up to Rauwl, my thoughts jumbled together, not making any sense to me. 

Within the next day or so, the Doctor called us to the control room and he danced about, pirouetting like a ballerina as he hit the control panel. I watched him do this with a certain amount of empathy for the poor TARDIS as her engines screamed and we rattled through space and time, me and Rauwl hanging onto the railing for dear life.

After a few minutes we landed and the engines stopped, the last whines echoing off down the halls. Nervously I tugged on my t-shirt, trying to smooth the wrinkles out.

"Come along, Miss Tea, and Rauwl, of course," said the Doctor, springing along down the ramp.

He paused at the door and smiled at us nervously.

"Now, the last time I was here I didn't exactly leave on the greatest of terms," he said to us and I raised an eyebrow, "there was a bit of a miss understanding involving a horse. But I'm sure it's all smoothed over now."

He turned back towards the doors and pushed them open, strutting out into the unknown. I looked at Rauwl, who swallowed nervously. I took his hand and led him down to the doorway, peering out.

We had landed in a wide hall way which had marble floors and high ceilings. There were tall pillars that I suspected had no purpose other than to look expensive. There were art works hanging along the dusky blue walls, the smallest was at least five foot wide. Spindle legged tables were placed strategically with large, ornate vases on them, some with strange flowers arranged inside them.

The Doctor was standing, hands on hips, looking around the hall way.

"Not quite where I expected us to land, but that's ok. Hopefully they won't be too mad at us."

"What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously, stepping out into the hall, my foot falls echoing loudly about us.

"Well, you see, this is an area usually closed off to guests and visitors. I suppose you could say that this hall way leads to the inner sanctum."

"Well, does it lead to the inner sanctum?" Rauwl asked.

"They don't like it to be called that, but yes."

I could feel heaviness in my stomach and I looked about anxiously.

"Perhaps we should be going, then," I said.

But before the Doctor could respond the doors at one end of the long hall way opened and a large cluster of people strided in, all wearing black and purple robes. They were all shapes and sizes and they talked animatedly among themselves, which died down as they neared us. We were trapped in accusatory stares and I knew it was only a matter of time before the guards were called in.

The Doctor stepped forwards, clapping his hands together and smiling widely.

"Well hello again!" he exclaimed, "It's me, the Doctor, just have a new face, again. So, how are you all?"

Silence ruled in the hall way as they stared at the Doctor, until one stepped forwards. Their robes were more ornate than the others and their skin was a pale purple. They were female in shape and had long hair that flowed down to the ground.

"Why are you here, Doctor? We suppose it's not just a social visit," she said in a lofty voice.

"Oh, Justice Trouse, how nice to see you again," responded the Doctor with apparent pleasure, "how're the children?"

"They are in sufficient health. Please answer the question."

The Doctors face fell and he turned to me and Rauwl, gesturing for us to come forwards.

"You lot haven't been doing your job properly," he said, glaring at the masses, "your policing of trade has been less than desirable. These two are proof of that."

"We do not understand," said Trouse.

"This young Earth girl was sent for sale at the markets of Trom!" snarled the Doctor.

I felt hundreds of eyes upon me and I blushed a little as I stood in defiance.

"And this young man from Shrilton was on his way there," the Doctor said, pointing a finger at Rauwl, "both of these planets were above Class 3. They were invaded by the Kripstick and taken from their homes! How is this possible, do tell me!"

"We have been aware for some time that there has been an illegal slave trade going on."

"Then why haven't you done anything about it?" demanded the Doctor.

"We saw that the time was not right."

A little voice in the back of my mind cried out to me and before I knew it, I was speaking over the Doctor.

"You're a liar," I said angrily, stepping forwards, "you didn't do anything about it because you thought we didn't matter! You thought that we are creatures below your evolutionary level. You were wrong. All living, sentient beings are important and should be protected!"

Trouse's cold eyes settled upon me and I felt she was looking right through me, like I wasn't really there.

"If that is so, where do you draw the line?" she said calmly. "Would you say that live stock should be protected because they are alive and sentient? Though they have not evolved and have not got the same cognitive functions that we have? Where is the point where something can or cannot be traded for profit, whether that is monetary or nutritionally? You cannot say that it is when they talk, as all live stock makes some sound which is their own language."

"But by that reasoning, any living thing can be sold or traded!" I growled, enraged. "Surely by being able to hold an intelligent conversation I have proven that I deserve the rights to call no one master!"

Silence came down once again as I glared at Trouse and she surveyed me.

"We are impressed by your spirit, girl. We will no longer dispute that something illegal has occurred and we will, in the fullness of time, bring justice to those involved."

"That's not good enough," I snapped, "by then thousands, if not millions more could be enslaved. And you'd never be able to track them all down. We sort this now, here. You will use your telepathics and see just exactly what has happened and then you will track down the individuals involved. There will be justice and I will see that it happens! What they did to me was- was-"

And that's when the righteous anger dissolved into tears and misery, the realization of what had happened to me and why it had happened. Because I meant nothing to these people.

This is a bit of a longer chapter because it's two shoved into one X3  
I hope you are all enjoying this, please let me know what you think! ^_^


	8. Memories

Rauwl but one of his furry arms about my shoulders protectively, glaring at the assembled people. The Doctor stood awkwardly, not totally certain what to do with me. After a moment I angrily wiped my eyes and glared at Trouse. Her face was impassive and that made the fire in my chest burn ever hotter.

"Well, then?" I demanded.

She nodded and turned to face the others behind her.

"Minach?" she called out.

A short male pushed his way to the front, his skin was dark red and his features were human-ish, but wider across his face. His eyes were large and dark, almost black. They glittered as he looked at me.

"Minach, please take the girl to the White Room and begin the process. Take her companions also, so that the Doctor can see that there is no foul play here."

Minach nodded in acknowledgement of Trouse and gestured that we should follow him. I felt rather light headed as I followed him down the long hall way, my footsteps ringing out around us as we passed through the mass of the Proclamation. They all stared at me as I passed and I could feel the colour rising in my cheeks as I defiantly strode on wards.

We reached the large, marble and golden guilt doors at the other end and Minach pushed them open for us. Beyond was a cavernous room, decorated in much the same style as the hall way behind us. There were many doors leading off of it and the seating arrangement reminded me of the lay out of the Parliament rooms back on Earth. There was a podium in the middle where a speaker would stand and all around there was seating, going up levels in a circular shape. Almost like a theatre, or lecture hall..

"This way," said Minach, his voice gravely.

He led us on wards, through a door to the right and into another hall way, much smaller than the last and without any tables or furnishings of any kind. It was shorter than the last, also, and led us to a smaller, less fanciful door, made from what looked like dark wood. He touched a hand pad by the side of it, having to reach up due to his height, and the door whooshed open to the side. Very space age.

Minach stepped through and motioned for me to follow. I glanced back at the Doctor and Rauwl, the former nodding that I should follow. I stepped through into a bright, white room that reminded me very much of the cell that I had been locked away in. My heart pounded in my ears as I tried to fight back utter panic, but then a calm washed over me. This was not the room I had been confined to.

There were two chairs facing each other in the middle of the room and there were no windows or anything else and when the door slid shut behind me it blended seamlessly into the wall. I was now encased in a white box with the small alien.

"You are either very brave or very stupid," he said, clambering up onto the chair, "to stand up to Trouse like that. She is, arguably, the most powerful woman in the universe."

He pointed at the chair opposite him.

"And in my experience, bravery and stupidity go hand in hand. Sit."

Cautiously I sat down and looked at the alien who was now more at my height, his intelligent eyes regarding me thoughtfully.

"You must relax. Any pain you experience is not real, it is just the echo of pain from your memories. It may feel strange at first, but that is normal. Just let it all flow. The memories that you show me will be recorded for evidence. We will be able to tell if the memories are tampered with, by you or an external party."

I watched him as from a pocket in his robes he pulled a strange device that looked like a swimming cap with wires on it. He pulled it onto his head and closed his eyes for a moment, apparently thinking. Parts of the hat lit up and flashed and then he opened his eyes and looked at me.

He reached up his small, thick fingered hands and put them on my temples, maintaining eye contact. My heart pounded hard and I was certain he could feel my pulse under his finger tips.

"Now, you must look into my eyes, maintain contact. Don't let the connection drop. Let us start with something easy. Think of a colour, remember it."

In my minds eye I could see the colour blue, a dark, navy blue that seemed to shift and twist, scattered with stars.

"Good, that's good."

I could feel myself beginning to relax.

"Now I will give you a memory of mine, to open the connection more. Don't be scared," he told me calmly.

With a jolt I was thrust into a memory that wasn't mine, of a record on a gramophone spinning around and soft music began to fill my ears. My racing heart slowed at the sound of the calming Moonlight Sonata. The memory flickered and for a fraction of a second I saw a man with crazy hair, writing sheet music at a piano, but then it was gone and I just saw the record spinning onward. In front of me, through the hazy memory, Minach shuddered. Had that memory not been from him?

The memory faded. Minach tried to speak, but it caught in his throat. He coughed and began again.

"Good," he said, glossing over the moment, "now we can begin properly, now that the link has been established. I will ask you questions or prompt you to think of certain things. You need not speak, unless you find that it help the memories happen. You may speak or make actions involuntarily, but that is natural. Let it flow into me, it will be all fine."

I took a breath and concentrated on the absorbing black of his eyes.

"Can you show me where you came from?" he asked me.

"Earth," I said, hesitating "in England."

I could feel my memories, little vague butterflies skittering around in the wind, and that became the memory, lying in the grass, butterflies around me. I could hear screams and there was a smell of smoke, acrid and chemical... but the memory flitted away quickly on it's delicate wings and formed into something else.

The bedroom I had been taken from formed around me. A small, single bed, blue painted walls and a desk. There was a tiny, high window that let light fall onto the pillow of the bed. On the walls were sketches, drawings. Could I draw? I couldn't remember, quite. But I recognized the room as mine. The door tot he room was big and heavy, made from reinforced metal, with a hatch in it that in my memory slid open and a pair of angry grey eyes looked in, then the hatch slid closed again.

I felt confused, this room didn't seem like a bedroom should. Was I a prisoner back on Earth?

"Relax," said the voice of Minach, seeming very distant now.

The memory shivered and shifted and I could feel a sudden pain in my legs. Like they were burning. There were screams and gun shots and I was laying on the ground, looking up at the grey sky, filled with fire. Someone was beside me, crying.

"Don't succumb to the pain," said Minach, barely a whisper now.

I began to cry, too, grief over whelming me. I reached out a hand and took the one of the person laying beside me. Our hands were covered in soot and blood.

Then there was something else and the memory shimmered out and I was back in that bedroom.

"That's good. Now, can you remember what happened when you were taken from Earth?"

The room shifted, only marginally, but the difference was evident. It was dark and I could see the stars through the window. There were more drawings on the wall. Strange, some of them looked like the blond girl, Rose, and there were other drawings, too, of things and people that were so strange. And a painting. A painting I had done. Of a battlefield with a sky that was on fire.

Then a white light filled the room and I tried to shield my eyes, but it was everywhere. The wall was removed and hands grabbed at me, hurting me.

"Stop! Please!" I could hear myself begging.

The hands hurt as they dragged me towards there the wall with the window had been and pulled my up a ramp and into a small pod ship. The grabbing hands were groping everywhere and I could feel them pulling at my clothes as I sobbed and struggled. It was as though I was both watching myself and yet in the middle of it. It was a very strange, uncomfortable feeling.

They spoke in a strange tongue that at the time I hadn't understood, but now I could hear what they said, which surprised me a little.

"She's young."

"Barely older than a child."

"She will grow on the journey. She'll get older."

"Are you certain that this is legal?"

"Of course."

"They are little more than cattle, after all."

"I'm not so certain, this one feels... different."

"We can't just throw her back just because of a 'feeling' you have!"

"Our sensors chose her because she would survive the flight. That's all that matters."

"She is certainly more beautiful than the others."

I sobbed and struggled against the three of them, screaming for help.

"Come back to me," called a distant voice.

I felt confused and disorientated, my mind and heart racing. Where did that voice come from?

"Come back to me, follow my voice, it's going to be okay."

Dazed, I felt the memories fall away and I was back in the white room, staring into Minach's eyes. Dimly, I touched my cheek, which was hot and damp with tears.

"Don't break the connection," Minach said.

"I-I don't know if I can-"

"Trust me," he said softly.

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"I know. Just show me one last thing. Just one. Then we can continue another day."

Our eyes remained locked, but I slowly nodded.

"Show me what happened after that."

With a jolt I was taken into my memories once again.

I was on the floor of the cell. I had been put in here some time now and I had given up screaming and pleading at the door. I looked down on myself, but I could all too clearly feel the pain that remained from the decontamination and my throat felt raw from the screaming.

With a sick sensation in my stomach, I knew what was coming and I didn't know if I could do this. I felt myself try to pull out of the memory, but Minach seemed to be holding me there, somehow stopping me from leaving.

In the memory the door slid open and I scrambled to my feet, backing to the far wall. This was the first time I saw my captors and the fear was fresh in me, even now. Up until that point the light had been too bright for me to see them. But now one stepped into the room. His ugle head with spines and four eyes looked over my fragile human body and I felt sick, knowing what was about to happen. The fact that I could understand him now made it all the worse.

"What a beauty, I am glad that I won the cards last night. I am going to enjoy my prize. And such a prize!"

He stalked towards me, un-zipping his jump suit uniform to show the almost transparent skin beneath, stripping quickly, showing his arousal. I screamed and cried, knowing even then what was to happen to me. His clawed hands grabbed my arms and pulled me towards him, holding me against his cold, reptilian skin.

"Relax," he hissed in my ear, "I'll go gentle on you. Perhaps."

I screamed and screamed, crying and fighting against the much stronger alien. But I was young and weak and already exhausted. It hurt, so much.

And all I could do was let it happen.

Then, when I was left sobbing on the floor, bloodied and bruised, the alien left. Soon after the door closed, it opened again and another entered, who shouted out to the one that had just left.

"This always happens when you use them first! Next time, leave something for me!"

Then he turned to my naked, beaten body and hissed.

"Well, I had better make the most of it, before my shift starts."

I felt the pressure that Minach had been using to hold me in the memory slacken and I pushed out of that memory as fast as I could. I couldn't stand another second of it. I resurfaced into the real world gasping and sobbing, the echos of the pain and fear still very close to the surface. I pushed away from Minach and moved to the corner of the room, where I curled myself as small as possible and sobbed into my knees until I was ready to be real again.


	9. Delving Deeper

After a time I became dimly aware that there was not just me and Minach in the room. Others had entered, but I didn't move, not ready to be human again. I could hear their voices as I trembled, but I wouldn't register what was said until later.

"What have you done to her?" demanded the Doctor.

"What was necessary. Memories can be painful. You of all people should know this."

"What exactly was necessary?" growled Rauwl.

"I had to hold her in the memory long enough to gather the evidence that I needed. Without the evidence I gathered we wouldn't otherwise have a case."

At this point I vaguely drifted out of what was being said and into a shocked state, nonsensical to anything about me.

I could sense someone near by and I came back, flinching away.

"Shh, it's okay, Tea," said Rauwl, his furry face a foot from mine, his hand extended to me.

Carefully I unfolded a little, reaching out my hand to his, shivering a little as our finger tips brushed against each other. Gently, he pulled me towards him, wrapping his arms around me, holding me close. I stroked his chest, starting to come down from the shock. He started to purr in his throat and I smiled a little at the comforting sound.

"That's quite enough of that, you two," said the Doctor, hands on hips, looking down on us.

Carefully, Rauwl helped me to my feet and I leaned against him for support as I gained control of my trembling legs. I gave Minach a withering look and he smiled a little.

"I am sorry that it had to be that way, but we needed evidence," he said.

"I am sure I will understand, later on," I growled, "but right now, I am still pretty pissed off. I don't know if I can trust you again."

His face fell and he looked slightly ashamed.

"I apologize," he said quietly, then "I am required to tell you that the side effects from the memory sharing can be that you experience light headiness and dizziness and it is not advised for you to be intimate with anyone, as your barriers are still down and memory sharing may occur involuntarily."

"Shouldn't you have told me before hand?"

Minach shrugged.

"It can make people panic and not want to share. It's better to tell them afterwards."

I turned away, fuming, and hobbled from the room as the Doctor spoke to Minach briefly.

"Did you see anything... unusual?" he whispered.

"Very. Some memories that seem older than she is... Perhaps we shouldn't talk about this now."

The Doctor nodded and I felt fury rising in me once again, like bile. I hated people talking about me. The Doctor joined me and Rauwl and we made our way back to the meeting hall.

"What happens now?" I asked bitterly.

"I think we should all get a good nights sleep," said the Doctor, "to the TARDIS!"

I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I felt strange, disorientated, after what had happened. Every time I almost drifted off to sleep, I woke up with a jolt, hearing voices, echoes. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, sighing. I crawled out of my bed and slipped on a pair of thick socks before wandering out into the hallway, the lighting dimmed, as though TARDIS herself was asleep.

Wearily I wandered the hallways, my feet leading me as there was no way my frazzled mind knew how to place one foot before the other, let alone the destination.

Before I knew it I was at the center of the TARDIS, on her platform. I stroked her control panel lovingly, feeling mildly confused as to why I did it. There was a small whirring noise and a couple of lights flickered on.

"Can you hear me, TARDIS?" I asked quietly.

A small clicking noise began and I assumed she could.

"I am so confused," I whispered to her, "my memories are hazy and jumbled. It's like- well, it's like I don't know who I am at all."

The soft voice of TARDIS echoed about me.

"Would you like me to help you remember?"

"I- I don't know if that's a good idea. I'm scared."

"Let me help you," she whispered to me.

For a moment I tried to decide what to do. I was still confused and afraid of the pain that Minach had caused me earlier.

"Will it hurt this time?" I asked.

"No, my darling," she whispered, "trust me."

"What do I do?"

"Just relax."

A golden mist surrounded me, floating before my eyes, dancing about me enticingly, inviting me. It tingled against my skin and it smelt like Autumn air, like fresh washing from the clothes line. I felt my eyelids get heavy and droop and then I felt my memories, already close to the surface, start to come.

I found myself looking down on me, as I was lain out in the grass, my long hair sprawled out beneath me. I wore a simple white dress that was slightly singed at the hem and had sooty finger marks on it. There were shouts and screams in the distance. I looked about myself hastily and saw a burning wreckage not far away. It looked like it had been a small craft, but the way it burned was spectacular.

The me on the grass sat up, the butterflies taking flight. I looked about in wonderment.

"So this is Earth?" I said, "it's a bit brilliant."

I looked down, confused. Had I not seen Earth before? But I had been born there! Hadn't I?

There were some shouts and suddenly the relative peace was disrupted by armed men in uniforms, storming into the area, guns raised and shouting orders. I looked about myself, confused, who were these people?

They surrounded the area, started cordoning it off and the past me stood, unstably.

"Excuse me?" I had called out, "I seem a bit lost. This is Earth, right? England?"

Weapons were pointed at me and a man with a shotgun came forwards, aiming down the sights at me.

"Wrong, this is America," and he shot me.

I looked down at where the dart had hit and moments later the past me collapsed, drugged.

The memory dissolved and re-formed. I awoke in a small interview room, my arms strapped to the chair, a small table separating me from a man in a dark suit and dark glasses.

"Our scans of your body have shown us that you are human, at least in form. DNA results show otherwise. You do not match anything in our systems, that includes all of the other visitors from space, What are you?"

"I'm sorry, you did stuff to me when I was asleep?" the memory of me said, disgusted.

The man showed no emotion and said nothing.

"I'm sorry, but that's disgusting. Well, no less than I expected from the American Government. Can't stop yourselves from probing, can you? It's disturbing. No wonder people don't visit you, they're too afraid of having probes shoved where they don't belong. I'm a girl, you know, doesn't that count as sexual harassment? Where I come from, it damn well would."

"And where exactly do you come from?" he demanded.

I shrugged.

"You know... Space... It's a big universe out there. You should visit it sometime. Good fun. Jolly good fun," I had said.

"There are a lot of nasty things we could do to you if you don't tell us what we want to know," he said, deceptively calmly, but I could tell he was angry underneath.

"And there's a lot of nasty things I could do to you, too, like shagging your mother, which I believe, on Earth, is even more offensive as it is frowned upon to have same sex relations. Oh, why did I have to land in America? England is so much more pleasant."

"You have visited Earth before?"

I waved my hand. "Sure, why not? I don't know. So what if I have? I don't think I did, but I may have. It's all a bit... Hazy..."

I slipped my arm from the restraint and put a hand to my head and looked about.

"Is there a doctor in the house? I feel a bit-"

And I vomited, onto the lino flooring. I watched the ensuing pandemonium with a mix of hilarity and embarrassment as the memory me slumped forwards and fainted while people rushed into the room and the man in the suit stood up, his trouser leg splattered with vomit, cursing.

The memory faded and when I came back it seemed a lot of time had passed, though I looked not much older. I was in that room, the room I had been stolen from. There were no pictures on the walls yet and the little window was dark. It was night time. I was sat on the bed, my legs crossed, gazing out of the high window at the small smattering of stars I could see.

"I'll come home soon," I said aloud, "where ever home is."

I moved towards myself, looking down. My face was pale and ill looking, I was fairly thin and my clothing was a set of blue scrubs. It was like I was in a hospital. Or a prison. Why had I been put here? Where was home? How could I just not remember?

I was pulled out of the memory sharply, feeling a little dazed. The golden mist about me began to fade and I was left with more questions than answers.


	10. Rauwl

"Quick," whispered the TARDIS to me, "he's coming. Hide, he will not take kindly to you being up here with me. He is very... Protective..."

Scrambling, still dazed, I stumbled down the steps to hide beneath the platform, just as the Doctor strode into the room. He looked worried and his footfalls were heavy. I looked up, through the glass flooring, trying to hide myself against the wiring. He flailed his arms about and turned to TARDIS's console.

"What have I done to deserve this?" he demanded.

There was silence, apart from a soft whirring from the console.

"That girl is not right," he said aloud, touching a couple of the buttons, "after that scan, I thought I must be wrong. That the screwdriver is faulty. But I know you wouldn't have given me a faulty Sonic, would you, dear?"

He patted TARDIS and continued.

"Then there was all that void matter on her... That seemed to make a kind of sense, I suppose. Travler from another universe, another time. Winds up on Earth. The Krisptick pick her up because she will live through the journey and that's that." There was a pause.

"And her memories..." he said quietly, "I had no idea. I almost wish I hadn't been able to see them on that monitor. Rauwl was beside himself..."

I felt my breath catch in my throat. They had been able to see my memories? I felt the colour drain from my face.

"Then there's that whole business as to why you chose her. Perhaps it was just that her memory kicked in, seeing as she's not human. Maybe I just read into it as a sign and I was stupid. I should know by now that there are no such things as signs, only coincidences. But then, you threw a wobbly when I was going to leave her somewhere... Perhaps this is all a set up by one of my old enemys and I'm playing right into their sticky little hands..."

I could feel my hands shaking, I was afraid by what I was hearing and what would happen if he discovered me here listening.

"Then when you scanned her for me, I thought that I saw something else there, but I know that's not possible. We both do, surely? There was just that faint trace of regeneration mist..."

He trailed off and stared blankly at the console. He didn't say anything for a time, then spoke again.

"It could just be that she traveled with a Time Lord from another universe and got stranded here. But, there's that possibility, just that tiny possibility, that I'm not alone. That there is another out there, somewhere, and she traveled with them."

He fell silent again, then-

"Or she could be from my future. But I don't see how. This is my last regeneration, after all. And that's a shoe box under the bed I really don't want to open. I don't want to think what kind of person I could become."

He sighed and stroked the TARDIS absent minded, like you would do to a pet cat.

"Or perhaps... I should dare to hope... She's another, well, like me."

I could hear a longing in his voice as he spoke and I could tell he was so lonely.

"After all, I did once hide myself as a human, on Earth. But I couldn't imagine what she must be hiding from. I even lost my memory, then. I had to give myself the perfect disguise. I became Mr. Smith. Perhaps she has made herself Miss Tea? The letter 'T' that she remembers could be for Time Lord..."

He fell silent.

Heart pounding in my ears, confused at what I was hearing, afraid of what was being said, I closed my eyes and hoped desperately for a way out. When I opened my eyes I found a small opening by my feet with a ladder leading downwards. I let out a shaky breath, very quietly, and quickly moved over to it, stealthily making my way downwards. Above me the opening slid shut as I scrambled downwards.

Vaguely I wondered where this would lead, but I knew not to worry too much, TARDIS would look after me.

Beneath me another panel opened up and the lader slide downwards, touching the floor of the room. I glanced around myself and my already terrified, stuttering heart beat faster. This was Rauwl's room. I had only been in here twice.

The light was off, but I could see the large bed and the wooden tables with flowers and sculptures on. I could hear the faint sound of water playing in the room adjacent, where I knew there was a tropical water feature, a small waterfall that acted as a shower. The air was cool and smelt of jasmine. It was almost as though we were in a little villa in the middle of a rain forest. I felt a little confused about how I thought of that comparison.

Under the blankets, the mound that I knew was Rauwl, began to stir. Fighting panic I tried to scramble back up the ladder, only to find that the panel at the top was closed and appeared to never have even been there. I didn't want to be found in Rauwls room, what if he thought I was spying on him or something?

I tried to move very quietly over to the door, but just as my hand touched the handle, Rauwl sat up.

"Tea?" he asked, blearily rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing in here?"

I sagged and leaned against the wall.

"I went for a wander and then the Doctor came and I had to hide in case he got angry." Technically true.

"Oh, right. So you just happened to wander past my door and have to hide in here?"

I blushed a little, not that he would see it in the dark.

"It didn't quite happen like that."

I saw him smile in the little light that filtered in.

"It's okay, I forgive you. And now the way I see it, you should come over here and help me get back to sleep, seeing as you so rudely woke me up."

"I, uh, I should get back to bed, uh-"

I stood awkwardly for a moment, my inner monologue arguing about whether I should go or stay. The stay won out, I wanted comfort and I was still rather shaken up about what I had seen and heard.

I moved over to the bed and crawled across it to Rauwl, who opened his arms for me. I snuggled into his warm, furry embrace and listened as he began to softly purr.

I closed my eyes and could feel the sleep that had eluded me for so long come upon me like a heavy blanket and I was asleep in moments.

I awoke in the morning very slowly, becoming increasingly aware of a warm, slightly damp, sand papery thing on my neck and hair, moving in upwards motions repeatedly. Confused and slightly afraid, I looked around to find Rauwl, with his arms wrapped around me, was licking my neck and hair. I wriggled away a bit and found myself a little angry.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

He smiled sheepishly, if it's possible for cats to do that without looking smug.

"Sorry, it's a habit. Grooming, you see."

I felt my eyes narrow in suspicion, but it quickly cleared. I stretched and scrambled out of the bed.

"Did you get back to sleep alright?" I asked.

"Yes, but not as quickly as you. You where out like a light!"

"Ah, yes. I was having a little trouble sleeping last night."

He gave me a slightly odd look, but shrugged it off and sat up. I nervously smoothed down my nightgown, which was rather rumpled. I looked up in time to see him getting out of bed and the sheets falling away and-

I clamped a hand over my eyes and turned away.

"You were sleeping naked?" I growled.

"Well, yes," he said, confused.

"Why did you get me to come join you, then? Wanted something more? Thought I'd be an easy target, huh? After you and the Doctor saw my memories?" I snarled, almost surprised at the fury in my voice.

"No! No! Nothing like that! I didn't know it was wrong! Different customs!"

I still felt angry, my eyes screwed up and my arms crossed, hugging myself. I felt his hands on my shoulders and I tried to shrug him off.

"Tea, it wasn't like that, not at all. I'd never- I couldn't- not to you. Not to anyone. Especially you."

I didn't turn, but my shoulders sagged and I felt angry tears leak onto my cheeks.

"When I saw those memories I wanted to go and rip those bastards to shreds. I couldn't watch what they did to you. I would never do that, never. Tea, I respect you so much and I would never do that to you and would fight anyone that tried. If you wanted to, I would, but I wouldn't do anything to you, not ever, without your say so. Not that I do want to, or anything. Unless you wanted to, in which case I do too, but-"

"You should stop talking," I said softly.

"Right, yeah, probably for the best..."

His hands dropped from my shoulders and he just stood there behind me. I was trying to figure out what all that had meant and what I should do about it. Should I just ignore it? Leave the room? Run and hide and not talk to him again?

I turned and opened my eyes slowly, carefully looking up at his face. His feline ears were flat against his head and his eyes were averted, looking down at the floor.

"Rauwl?" I said, my voice a little croaky.

He looked into my eyes and I smiled nervously. His ears pricked up a little.

"I don't want to do things, not now. I'm sorry for how I reacted. I should know by now that different things are acceptable in different places."

"And I'm sorry for upsetting you," he said quietly, "I should have thought before I acted."

For a moment we stood awkwardly, then he opened his arms a little. I moved forwards into his embrace, resting my cheek on his fluffy shoulder. I could feel a warm, comforting feeling in me and I looked up at his worrisome feline face. I put a hand to his cheek and stood on my tip toes and gave his a small kiss on the nose.

"I'm going to go back to my room now," I said quietly, "I'll see you latter, okay?"

He nodded and I turned, leaving the room. Once out into the corridor, I leaned against the wall and breathed a huge sigh. How should I have handled that? Did I handle it in the right way? I hoped so.

"Tea?!" bellowed a voice.

I looked up and saw the Doctor standing at the end of the hallway, fury on his face. He stormed towards me and grabbed hold of my upper arm.

"What have you done?" he growled.

"N-nothing." I stammered, terrified of the pure rage coming off of him, his usually friendly demeanor gone.

"Do you not understand how dangerous that is? Do you? Do you know what happened to the last baby conceived on the TARDIS?"

"I-I d-don't know what you m-mean."

"I think you do! I'm not having this, I've had enough of you and all the trouble and pain you have brought me! I'm leaving you here, with the Proclamation! I can't be dealing with you any longer!"

His grip tightened and he tried to pull me back along the corridor, but I dug my heels in.

"Get off of me!" I screamed.

Rauwl's door slammed open and he entered the corridor, thankfully dressed in his usual toga style garb, with a murderous look on his face.

"Let go of her!" he roared.

The Doctor turned, pushing me to the wall, which I slid down to the floor against. He approached Rauwl with a fire in his eyes that was matched by the fire in Rauwl.

"Or what?" the Doctor snarled.

Rauwls eyes narrowed and he bore his teeth and hissed, the fur on his neck, shoulders and arms raising, his tail fluffing out.

"Or I'll have to fight for her."


	11. Dispute and Memories

I watched in horror as Rauwls stance shifted from foot to foot, getting ready to pounce. The Doctor sneered at him and his usually pleasant face twisted disgustingly.

"You think you, a pathetic feline, can bring me down? I am the last of the Time Lords! And you are just a pale imitation of the fine warriors of your planet."

A terrible fascination stole over me as I watched Rauwls body, his tail wagging quickly, angrily, his muscles were bunched like a spring, a hair trigger away from being released. I knew that it would be just one insult and then-

"And how dare you both, on my TARDIS! It's disrespectful! I rescued you! Do your simple little minds not understand? Are you such imbeciles that-"

I saw something in Rauwl break. His pupils dilated massively and the nails on his fingers extended as his whole spring loaded body unwound, leaping through the air, mouth opening in a roar of fury, hands outstretched to claw the face of his foe.

Several things happened then in quick succession. I stood, using the wall for support, the Doctor dodged at the very last second, spinning away from what would have been a killing blow. Rauwl continued through the air and landed on all fours, quickly whipping his head around, preparing for a second attack. The Doctors dodge span him towards me and in a panic I pushed with all my might, both of my hands outstretched, connecting with his chest, sending him flying into the opposite wall.

Everything went deadly still.

"How dare you," I said, my voice shaking, "how dare you. I have not done anything with Rauwl! Do you really think I would let any male near me after what happened to me? For three years? I still bear the scars! I still have bruises that haven't fully faded! Get that into your thick Time Lord skull!"

"But you were in his-" began the Doctor, dazed.

"Being in the same room as someone doesn't mean that you are going to or have had sex! Or is it different on your planet?"

There was silence for a moment, then I said something else, something that forced its way out.

"And she's not yours."

"What?" said the Doctor, confused.

"TARDIS. She isn't yours. She doesn't belong to you."

The Doctor went pale. Then his cheeks flushed with anger.

"Of course she is mine!"

I laughed humorlessly.

"No she isn't. You are hers. She has you under her thumb."

"Get out." he said softly.

I stared him in the eye.

"Get out!" he bellowed.

"Being the last of your kind doesn't make you a god!"

He stared, open mouthed, fury radiating from him.

Rauwl stood, unfolding slowly, then he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Let us go," he said softly, but I could hear his anger.

I kept eye contact with the Doctor for a moment longer, then I looked away, up at Rauwl instead.

"Yes, we really should," I responded, "I can see we are not wanted here. I'm sure the Doctor has much better things to be doing."

I turned away from the Doctor and Rauwl put a hand on the small of my back, gently pushing me forwards, steering me back to the main console area. When we reached it, I looked up at TARDIS on her podium.

"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble," I said to her.

A few lights blinked and the gentle buzz and whir quietened down and stopped and I knew she was settling herself down. She wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.

Rauwl and I left the TARDIS, closing the doors softly behind us and moving out into the corridor.

"What now?" Rauwl asked.

"I suppose we should go find someone."

I lay in the circular bed, staring up at the white ceiling above me. The sheets were a pale blue and the curtains around the bed where a darker blue. The walls were white. The furniture was white ultra modern and sleek. The lighting was dimmed and there was a window that changed tints with a touch of a button, that was currently set to opaque.

It had taken a while to find someone to talk to and even longer for them to arrange a free room for us. I got the feeling that there was some reluctant awe surrounding me after I had spoken out. By the time we finally got our rooms, we were both ready for sleep again and could do with a couple more hours, especially myself.

I sighed softly, rubbing my eyes.

I had been crying for a while, but I wasn't totally certain why. But the tears had abated now and I just couldn't get to sleep. I knew that some time soon, I would be awoken by one of the servants of the Proclamation and taken back to Minach, along with Rauwl and possibly the Doctor, if he decided to turn up.

I rolled over and tried to punch my pillow into a more comfortable shape.

I assumed it would be Rauwl's turn today and I wasn't totally certain I was ready to see what had happened to him. I felt something warm in my chest, that made me feel a liittle queasy and giddy when I thought of Rauwl. He was only in the next door room. Perhaps I would sleep better in the same room as him?

Nervously I clambered out of bed, pulling on a silky robe that had been provided and made my way to the door. I paused, my hand hovering over the key pad that would let me out. My heart fluttered like a bird as I pressed the buttons and the door slid open.

I jumped and nearly screamed as I found a rather bemused youth in plain robes standing there, hand raised to knock on the door.

"I- uh-I- The Honorable Minach is ready for you and your companion," he sputtered.

A strange anger and relief at being stopped from going next door mixed together.

"I have to get dressed, first!" I said, my voice high, pressing a couple of buttons, making the door slide closed again.

I rushed over to my clothes and pulled them on, my cheeks flushing bright red as I did. What had I almost done? Fumbling I arranged myself, putting my top on the right way round on the second try and eventually left the room, my feet bare, finding the youth waiting, embarrassed, with Rauwl standing beside him. I smiled brightly at Rauwl and he beamed back at me.

We moved together down the corridor the elevator at the end. We stood in awkward silence as the doors slid shut and we were whisked away down dozens of storeys.

I glanced repeatedly at Rauwl, looking over his furred arms with their tabby patterning I knew so well. He caught my gaze and held it and I could feel myself flushing red, my breath quickening. I saw his feline pupils dilate, like I was his prey and he was focusing in on me. Just as I thought he might pounce, the doors pinged open and we quickly exited. I felt slightly embarrassed, half wishing he had pounced on me...

The youth led us along the corridors until we reached the room I had been in just over twenty four hours previously. Minach stood outside the door, hands behind his back, smilling softly. As we approached he nodded to us and looked at Rauwl.

"Shall we begin, young male?"

Rauwl, suddenly very serious, nodded once. I watched as Rauwl went into the room first, followed by the shorter alien. Minach turned and spoke to the youth that had guided us here.

"Please take her to the viewing room, Schealles," he told him.

The youth, Schealles, nodded and gestured for me to follow him. I watched the door slide shut, encasing Rauwl in with the tiny alien. Quickly I followed Schealles, as I didn't want to miss anything, I wanted to make sure that Rauwl was safe.

By the time we entered the second room, Rauwl and Minach were already at the stage of preparing to delve into Rauwl's memories.

I looked at the two large monitor screens before me in wonderment. One showed the room as a whole and the other showed a full screen image of Rauwl's face. This must be what Minach was seeing.

"Now we have established a good connection, can you show me where you come from?" asked Minach.

The screen that held Rauwl's face shifted and I saw a flat grassland with beautiful white marble houses, villas, standing beneath a sky lit by a golden sun and two dusky moons. There were people moving around, children playing. I put a hand to my mouth to stop myself from gasping at the clarity and beauty of the place.

"That's good, that's good," said Minach calmly, "now, do you remember what happened when you were taken?"

I saw Rauwl shiver on the monitor and the memory on the other changed. The memory Rauwl was huddled with two younger siblings, little girls, in a cupboard in a bedroom. There was the sound of screams and shots being fired. Through a tiny gap in the cupboard door I could see a woman was leaning on the door to the bedroom, trying to keep it closed, her eyes shut tight. She seemed to be trying not to breath, trying to listen for something. In the room near by there was a loud bang, a door being kicked in.

Then a male shouted, roared in fact. But there was a gun shot and a resounding thud. The girls cuddled up to Rauwl whimpered. He clamped his hands over their mouths to keep them from making noises, his eyes huge.

"Did you hear something?" snarled the voice of a Krisptic.

"Well, he was clearly guarding something," growled another.

"Check all rooms."

I felt my breath catch in my throat as I saw Rauwl shivering uncontrollably as his memory was replayed, watching himself sitting helplessly with his sisters. I watched as the door handle twitched and the door shook.

"There's someone holding the door shut," growled a Krisptic.

The door lurched and the woman was thrown onto the floor by the force, hitting her head on the side board, knocking her out cold. Rauwl moved his hands from his sisters mouths to their eyes, trying to protect them from seeing what came next.

The Krisptic came into the room and heaved the woman up onto one of the four's shoulders and removed her from the room.

"A fine specimen," jeered one of them.

"If she survives that bump to her head, that is," growled another.

"So what if she doesn't?" growled the third, "we have plenty more."

"Check the rest of the room," said the second slowly, looking around, "where you find one, there are bound to be others..."

Rauwl, quivering, moved himself in front of his sisters. The doors to the cupboard where wrenched open and he pounced out, taking the first one down, clawing his face and chest, but another one grabbed him by his neck and punched him full on in the jaw. Dribbling blood, Rauwl fell to the floor.

I watched in horror as his two sisters were grabbed, screaming and crying, being dragged from the room, one by her hair and the other by her tail. One of the Krisptic grabbed Rauwls hair and pulled his head back.

"Come now, little male, don't fight back and I may let you live."

Sobbing, Rauwl allowed himself to be dragged away.

Rauwl was forced into the center of a town square where a fountain stood. It looked as though it had once been a fantastic sculpture, covered in animals and feline cherubs. Now it was half carved away by laser blasts and water spurted out at odd angles, spraying the dejected feline people. Quickly he moved to where his sisters had been thrown down and gathered them into his arms, his blood tangling in his and their fur. They cried into his shoulders, whimpering for their mother and father.

Rauwl watched the Krisptic as they carried his mother away, towards a pod like ship. They dropped her inside unceremoniously and closed the doors, then returned to the crowd around the fountain. The crowd was comprised of cat people, young and old, some where injured badly, others looked shell shocked. There were a few women clasping babies protectively, sobbing.

"Listen up, whelps!" shouted one of the Krisptic, which I recognized with a jolt as the captain.

The crying and whimpering quietened somewhat.

"Females with infants will stay. Older males will stay. Only females and young males are required. No old females. Do not fight us. We will kill you if you fight back. Then we will kill your family. We will select you if we want you. The rest of you will stay here, under our guards."

Several Krisptic moved into the crowd, guns ready to shoot those who fought back, but no one did. They snarled at some of the felines, telling them to return to their homes. Over all, there were about thirty that remained of the eighty that had been forced from their homes. The Captain strolled over to where Rauwl was knelt, cuddling his sisters to him.

"Get up, male," he hissed.

Rauwl glared up at him. The Captain kicked out, connecting with his ribs, making him yowl in pain.

"I said, get up!"

Growling, Rauwl stood, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Stand up straight," the Captain commanded, "chin up! Chest out! You are supposed to be from a planet of great warriors! However, you seem too slim, too pretty to be a warrior. Too female."

Rauwl's eyes narrowed and he growled deep in his chest, but the Captain just laughed.

"Don't make me give you a smack about the head, male. You will make a very pretty pet, I am certain."

"I will be no ones pet!" Spat Rauwl, dribbling blood.

The Captain slapped him about the side of his head.

"How dare you speak to me like that! You are now my property until such time as I sell you on! I am fully within my rights to kill you and don't you ever forget that, male! Fortunately for your sorry pelt, you are worth more to me alive. For the time being. But if I deem you too much of a hassle..."

The Captain let his sentence trail off, smirking disgustingly at the way Rauwl looked down at his feet submissively, obviously enjoying his pain. Then he turned his eyes upon Rauwl's sisters, who were cowering together, clutching to one another. A nasty grin spread across his face, showing rows of pointed teeth.

"These will make fine specimens. We have a few years ahead of us, they will have time to grow and blossom. Stand up, female."

The elder sister detached herself from the younger and stood quivering and positioned herself in front of the other before the Captain. She must have been about fifteen and the other must have been around eight. The Captain grabbed hold of her long golden hair and made her twist her head this way and that, inspecting her.

"Perhaps I shall keep you, pretty one," he crooned to her.

Rauwl lost his nerve at that, pouncing forwards, claws outreached to tear the Captain's grinning face.

Everything went dark and the memory dissolved.

I choked back a sob that wanted to escape me, trying to stop the tears flowing with my fingers. Rauwl was trembling uncontrollably, but still Minach continued.

"That was good, Rauwl. Just relax, the pain isn't real anymore. It's just a shadow now. Can you remember what happened when you woke up?"

A series of images flashed across the screen in quick succession as Rauwl clutched at his head.

The faces of his sisters as the were dragged away by their hair, their arms outstretched to him, screaming for him, for their mother...Rauwl screaming as decontamination took place... His clothes being torn from his body, leaving him naked, deep lesions bleeding through his fur... The Captain beating him into submission as he lay on the floor, whimpering, crying, begging for mercy... Then, finally, the sterile white cell. He was curled on the floor, sobbing, bleeding and naked.

"Thank you, Rauwl," said Minach softly, "that will suffice..."

I stood up quickly, knocking the chair backwards in my haste as I ran from the room, rubbing my eyes to rid myself of the tears, hurrying to the room where Rauwl was. The door opened as I approached and I pushed past Minach, going directly for Rauwl. I took his quivering body in my arms and held him close to me. He put his arms shakily around me and sobbed into my shoulder noisily.

"We'll get them back," I said to him, "I promise. Whatever it takes."


	12. Borrowed

Rauwl and I sat on the bed in my assigned room, his head in my lap. I stroked his hair gently and he purred in response. His tears had stopped now and he seemed a lot calmer. The silence between us stretched onward as the light outside began to fade.

"Arianah and Mish," he said quietly, "those are their names."

We fell into silence again.

"Do you remember your family?" he whispered.

"No."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing. I don't even remember having a family. I thought I did, but the memory faded... I think I once had sisters. Lots of sisters."

Rauwl rolled onto his back and looked up at me.

"They are probably so scared now," he said, "I don't think that our mother made it. I just hope they haven't been sold already. We will never find them otherwise."

I looked down at him, my forehead wrinkled in worry.

"I hope that the Captain didn't get hold of Arianah," he whispered, "I don't know what I would do if- if-"

"If he did to her what he did to me?" I asked.

"Yes." He looked away.

"I'm certain she will be okay," I said firmly, "we will find them both."

"How can we find them? The Doctor is the one with the time machine, and we burnt that bridge."

We both went quiet for a time.

"We could... just take her... the TARDIS..." I said slowly.

Rauwl looked back at me, wide eyed.

"How? We don't know how to steer! And if the Doctor caught us..."

"TARDIS will take us where we need to go, I just have to ask her," I said softly.

We both thought for a while, not saying anything aloud.

"Perhaps we should wait for the Proclamation to sort it out..." He said quietly.

"But how long will that take? Days? Weeks? Years? By then they could be anywhere in the universe..."

We lapsed into silence once again and it stretched on longer this time.

"I think we should get some sleep, before we decide on anything," said Rauwl quietly.

I nodded my agreement and watched a little sadly as he left my room.

Light streamed in and hit my face, making me stir and wake. I sat up and found myself back in that room, on Earth. Confused, I stood and went to the wall with me drawings on it. As I watched they seemed to shift slightly, the occupants moving and warping.

Ahh, I thought dimly, this must be a dream...

I turned and saw the door to the cell was open. I moved to it and peered out. There was no one around, so I cautiously stepped out and began to make my way down the corridor. Along the walls were other doors to other cells, but all were closed. It felt as through the corridor went on forever, but I knew that wasn't possible. After what could have been hours or just mere seconds, I came to the door at the end, which sprung open at my approach.

Beyond it was a field.

I stepped forwards, gasping as the grass touched my feet. The air was heavy with the scent of flowers and there was the buzzing of busy insects all about me. The grass was short at first, but as I kept walking, it got taller, up to my waist. After a time of walking, not certain where I was going, I saw a band stand up ahead. It was stark white and in a small clearing. Distantly I could hear music, but the melody eluded me, the players were out of sight and far away. I moved towards the band stand, finding that it was deserted, though there was something small on the floor. I climbed the three small steps and stooped down, snatching up the little trinket box that was placed in the center.

It was barely bigger than a ring box and was made from dark wood with a intricate carving on its surface. I was tempted to open it, but there was a strong feeling of foreboding about it. My fingers shook as they touched the lid, feeling the pattern beneath them.

"I would not do that," said a voice behind me, making me jump.

I span around quickly and saw a young girl, watching me. She had the same hair and eyes as me, though she was smaller. She looked at me with a knowledgeable gaze that held steady.

"Why not?" I asked her.

"Because that is where the mists are hidden."

"What mists?"

"The mists."

I stared at her and she held my gaze.

"Why are they bad?" I asked.

"They aren't bad, but they are dangerous," she said, "it will hurt our sisters if you open it."

"Who are our sisters?"

She pointed upwards, towards the now darkening sky where little twinkling stars were appearing.

"Who are our sisters?" I repeated.

She smiled cryptically and pointed upwards again.

"I don't understand."

"You will. But not yet. Do not open the box, Tea, do not open the box."

She turned and began to walk away from me. I watched her disappear into the tall grass and when I could no longer see her I looked to the setting sun. Then I looked down at the box in my hands. The fading light played across its surface, throwing the carvings into greater relief. I traced the crack of the opening with my finger, but then carefully placed it back in the center of the band stand.

Once I had done this, the light faded completely.

I sat up with a start, looking about myself, frightened. It took a moment to register where I was; but when I did I sank back into the pillows with a sigh.

I thought back upon the dream I had just had. What was that box? What had that younger version of me meant but our sisters in the sky? Were they dead? Is that what she had meant? How could mists be hidden in such a small box?

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. Pondering upon fading dreams was a waste of time, I decided.

******

When light started to creep its way across the bedroom floor, I knew what we were going to do. I rose and dressed, then strode from my room, knocking quietly on the door to Raulw's room, trying not to alert anyone that I was already awake. I waited, tapping my thighs with my hands for a few moments before Rauwl opened the door, looking sleepy, the duvet from the bed wrapped around him.

"To what do I owe this rather early pleasure?" he mumbled, then yawned.

I pushed past him into the door and the door slid shut behind me. I turned towards him and grinned.

"We are going to take the TARDIS."

He looked at me for a moment, as though he didn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"Are- Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

I nodded and he smiled too.

"When?" he asked, breathless.

"Soon as you put your toga on, kitty," I said.

He jumped to it, dropping the duvet from his body and started wrapping himself in his toga. With a little difficulty, I turned away to give him some privacy. Moments later he tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to look at him, not realizing quite how close he was. For a brief moment we were very almost touching and my breath caught in my throat. I looked up into his eyes and felt a fluttering in my stomach. I watched his pupils dilate and his breathing quickened.

"We should be going," I whispered.

He nodded slowly and reached an arm around me to press the door pad. The door slid open and I turned away from him and stepped outside, my heart racing.

After sneaking through the main complex, avoiding all the guards and wandering Proclamation members, we finally reached the TARDIS. She stood steadfast in the corridor she had landed in, jarring with her clean surroundings. I moved forwards, my fingers curling around the metal door handle, then pushed her door carefully inwards. I poked my head inside the gap and looked about.

The lights in the control room were dimmed and there was no sign of the Doctor. I gestured to Rauwl and we both entered the TARDIS as quietly as we could. I moved to the control panel and lovingly touched it.

"I'm back now, TARDIS," I whispered to her.

The lights brightened and the screen above the console flickered to life, the face of TARDIS appearing.

"Welcome back, Tea," she said softly, "and Rauwl, of course."

Rauwl stood stunned on the ramp, his fur on end, staring at the face of TARDIS.

"Tea," he said quietly, "that's- that's-"

"This is TARDIS," I said impatiently, "come on, Rauwl, we need to move quickly!"

"But Tea, she looks like-"

I huffed and turned my back on him, looking up at TARDIS.

"Can you take us to his sisters?" I asked her.

"I can. When?"

"When ever it is safe, just get us to them quickly, and quietly" I replied.

"Stabilizers on," she stated, "preparing for de-materialization. Materialization warning noise off. Please sit comfortably during our journey."

Her face flickered off of the screen and me and Rauwl grasped onto the railing as knobs and dials began to twist and spin, lights flashed and a gentle humming began. We braced ourselves, but after a few moments, the humming stopped and it felt as though we had hardly moved at all. I looked at Rauwl and he nodded.

Together we went to the screen and with a couple of presses we were looking on the outside cameras into what appeared to be a loading bay. Crates were stacked upon each other and their appeared to be nobody about.

"Should we take weapons?" asked Rauwl.

Before I could respond, there was a small whooshing noise and a click as from the console extended a sonic screwdriver. Without a second thought I plucked it from its place and smiled at Rauwl.

"Let's go," I said.

Excitement rushed through me as we ran down the ramp, pulling the door open and stepping out into the loading bay. We heard distant conversation, but the speakers were too far away to pick out their words. Moving quickly and quietly we slipped behind one of the towering crates and looked at each other worriedly.

"Do you recognize this place?" I whispered to him.

He looked about, then shook his head.

"Perhaps we should have planned this better," he murmured.

I shook my head, smiling.

"Where's the fun in that?"

He made to reply, but I hushed him, listening hard as footsteps approached us, accompanied by a strange dragging sound, voices growing louder.

"- what the LT says, I don't think we should have done this."

"It doesn't matter what you think," snapped the other voice, "the fact of the matter is that it is done now."

"But... She's so small... So young..."

"It's too late! The LT paid for her, fair and square. There's nothing you can do about it. Unless you want to offer more credits for her?"

"You know I don't have that much credit!"

"Then shut your gills."

Around the corner, backs to us, came a pair of short beings, about four and a half feet tall and slimy looking. They wore the same kind of suits that the Krisptick had worn and from the neck of their suits their large, fish-like grey heads perched, their gills flapping at they took in the air. Between them, they were dragging a lifeless form of a small, naked cat girl. Rauwl growled deep in his chest and the aliens turned, looking momentarily shocked; then dropping the arms of the girl they were dragging their gloved three fingered hands reached for their holsters.

"Don't move," I snarled, pointing the sonic at them.

They both stood stock still, hands almost on their guns.

"Rauwl, get your sister," I growled to him.

He nodded once and rushed forwards, crouching by her head, calling her name softly, trying to wake her.

"Now, boys," I said to the two fish-men, "you are going to tell me everything I want to know. Firstly, Where did you pick this girl up?"

They glanced at each other, but said nothing, infuriating me.

"Oh come now, don't play coy, or do I need to give you a little... Persuasion?"

I felt something behind my eyes begin to burn and my lips twisted in an odd smile. They both swallowed, looking terrified.

"Our-Our Lieutenant picked her up at our refueling stop," said one, "not us."

Nodding, the other one added "Yeah. He bought her for sixty credits. Said she was worth it. Half price."

"Half price?"

"Yeah," said the first, "the Krisptick were eager to get rid of them. Selling them off cheap. Said something about being caught out by an inspector."

"Nah," said the other, "they said it was a doctor, right?"

I glanced at Rauwl, who was lifting his sister in his arms, a dark glint in his eyes.

"What have you done to the girl?" I demanded.

"Just a knock out drug, it'll wear off in an hour, she was scratching and screaming when we picked her up."

"The Lieutenant wanted us to put her in the cells, so she would cool off a bit."

"Put her in the TARDIS," I said to Rauwl quietly.

He walked past me, glancing briefly at me, then moved to the TARDIS door. I looked back at them.

"And now, what were you going to do with her?" I growled, the burning behind my eyes getting hotter.

"The Lieutenant just wanted a maid or something."

"Yeah, do his laundry, keep his room clean, serve him, de-stressing..."

They fell silent under the look in my eyes.

"That girl is a living, sentient person! How DARE you think of her as a lesser being, an item to be bought! I hope that you change your ideals or I may just have to come back for you. This is illegal and as such, you will be punished for it. Now GO!"

Together the fish-men span on their heals and ran away from me without a backward glance. Panting, I turned away and moved to the TARDIS, stepping inside, planning our next move.


	13. Mish

I entered the TARDIS and saw Rauwl carrying his sister up the stairs, so I followed him quickly. He glanced at me, his face determined, then continued onward, carrying her towards where his room was. As we approached, the door swung inwards and Rauwl strode in, carefully setting his sister out on the bed. She looked so small on the large, white sheeted bed.

"It's Mish," he said softly, answering the unasked question.

Wordlessly I took up a blanket from the blanket chest at the bottom of the bed and threw it over her, carefully smoothing it down around Mish to cover her thin naked frame. Then I stood beside Rauwl, looking down at her. Carefully I took hold of his hand, trying to show him that he wasn't alone.

"We will wait until she wakes," he mumbled, "then we are going to get Arianah."

I nodded and continued to gaze at Mish's pretty face. Her colouring was lighter than Rauwls, more blond than his brown. She was still a tabby pattern like him, but she had a softer look about her. At least until you looked closer and saw the marks beneath her fur where she had been beaten and tortured.

"She was only eight when we were taken," whispered Rauwl, "too young. She hadn't even started her training yet."

"Training?" I asked quietly.

"Yes. She was going to be a great Hunter. She had the build for it, everyone said so. So lithe and agile. Always climbing up trees, too," he smiled faintly, "she would ambush people in the town square. Thought it was great fun, though she got scolded for frightening the Elders."

"What were you trained to be?" I asked softly, looking up at him.

"My father always wanted me to be a Warrior, like him," his smile faded, "but I wasn't the right shape, or size. The other males in the town would always tease me about that. They would tell me that I should be one of the Nannies, or a Weaver with the other females. But I got trained to be an Astrologer. Our people were advanced, despite the way we clung to old traditions. Being an Astrologer was so important, it meant that I would know of the stars and be able to map our way across them when we traveled them. Not that we often did."

We stood in silence for a time, holding each others hands, looking down at Mish.

"I hope she's not been... You know..." he trailed off awkwardly.

"Yeah," I said quietly.

Mish stirred and her eyelids flickered before they flew open and she sat up, struggling against the blanket I had wrapped around her, hissing and snarling.

"Mish!" cried Rauwl, "Mish, it's me! You're safe now!"

Mish turned her wide eyes to look at Rauwl in disbelief.

"Rauwl?" she mewed.

"It's me, we rescued you," he said, letting my hand drop from his, moving towards his sister.

I watched as he sat on the edge of the bed and she threw herself at him, hugging him tightly.

"I can hardly believe it," she sobbed, "I thought- I thought- I- I-"

"I'm here now, you're safe. And soon we will have Arianah with us, too."

"And- and mother too, right?"

"If she's... Mish, I think she..." Rauwl looked away from Mish, his voice sounding strained.

Mish seemed not to hear him, wiping her eyes instead, sniffling. I stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say. I felt very out of place, like I was intruding on something private. Mish looked up at me, her green eyes locking onto mine and her fur stood on end and she began to hiss.

"Mish! Calm down!" Rauwl growled, "This is Tea, she's the person that meant I could save you!"

Mish's fur settled, but her eyes were still wide and fearful.

"What is she," she whispered loudly to Rauwl.

"She's a Human, from Earth, in the Milky Way," Rauwl responded, looking at me apologetically.

"I didn't know there was intelligent life out that far..." said Mish thoughtfully.

"Well, I wouldn't say that the Human race was all that intelligent, to be honest," I said, smiling a little.

Mish looked away from me, to her brother, then cuddled into his fur again. Feeling a little jealous and rather awkward, I backed to the door.

"I'll, uh, let you get settled in, then," I said quietly.

Neither of them looked at me, so I left the room, closing the door softly behind myself. I leaned against the wall for a moment, then moved away, walking blindly along.

What was going to happen once the Doctor found that we'd high jacked the TARDIS, with him still inside? I was certain that he was going to have a fit. But even so, wasn't it worth it? Just to see Rauwl reunited with his sister, the look on his face when she'd woken up and recognized him was enough to answer my question. My heart fluttered in my chest as I started to realize something, something crucially important.

I would do anything to make Rauwl happy, I would do anything for him. I wanted to be close to him, to touch him, to hold and be held by him.

I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at the corridor ahead blankly. What should I do about it?

I felt something press into the small of my back and a voice behind me spoke.

"Don't move."

The first thing that went through my head was panic, but that was quashed quickly by the knowledge that it was the Doctor, then amusement that he was threatening me with a sonic screwdriver.

"I doubt you could do much to me with a sonic," I said quietly, turning around to face him.

His face was expressionless and his eyes held something dark that I hadn't seen there before. His young face seemed to be showing the age he truly was, even though it was still smooth and young. There was something behind his face, as though the youth he was wearing was simply a mask.

"I don't know," he responded flatly, "it might do something really awful to you. You aren't human, after all. The TARDIS can't even identify you. The only thing I know if that you have regeneration mist on you and that's impossible. Unless you have been in contact with a Time Lord and that's not possible. The others are dead, gone. I'm the last one."

"Look, I don't know how I have that stuff on me, I can't remember," I growled.

"And now," he continued, ignoring me, "you've stolen onto my TARDIS and moved us! I don't know how you managed it or what you were hoping to achieve, but you are going to leave, right this second. You are going to get out of my TARDIS and you are never going to come back, because I don't need your kind of trouble. Do you understand?"

"When did you become this?" I demanded, "When I met you, you were kind and wanted to help me. But now you've become a monster!"

We glared at each other for a moment, then something dawned on me, memories and events that hadn't happened to me and weren't mine began to flood in, as they had about Sarah Jane and Rose Tyler.

"You were like this before, weren't you? Before you met me. A lonely, angry old man in his box, trying to run away from his problems and as soon as something becomes too real and not a game any more because you can't face reality. You just keep running. You ran from Sarah Jane, ran from Rose, you ran from Martha, you ran from Donna and you left the Ponds behind, left them trapped and confused and you never even tried to get them back!"

Something began to burn in me again, something hot behind my eyes that surged through my blood and set me aflame inside.

"Amy thought so much of you! She thought that you were very old and very kind and good and fun. But she didn't see the truth of you until it was too late and when she did, you abandoned her!"

"That's not true!" he bellowed, "She had Rory!"

"That's how you justified it? Just the same as when you left Rose? And with Sarah Jane and Martha and Donna, you thought they would have someone to take care of them, didn't you? But you should know by now. They never stop waiting!"

"I didn't have a choice!" he screamed.

"You did!" I bellowed back and the fire within burned even hotter.

For a moment fear flickered in his eyes as he stared back at me, then it was gone, replaced by fury. He raised the Sonic and pressed the button. For a moment I thought nothing had happened, but then everything went dark.


	14. Dream Walks

Sun light tickled my face and the smell of grass and dirt filled my nose. Slowly, I opened my eyes and found myself lying in the grass. I sat up, then stood up, looking over the tops of the long grass in a large, seemingly endless field.

Somewhere, far away, I heard children laugh.

Slowly, as though wading through water, I began to walk. A light breeze tickled my hair and made the long, dry grass rustle with movement. Birds sang from somewhere and the children laughed.

I looked to the sky and it was bright with stars, as though it was day. The stars twinkled and winked down at me. I kept moving onward.

"Tea?" called a voice.

"Hello?" I called back.

Hello... hello... hello...

"Who's there?"

Who's there... Who... Who's there...

"It's me, Tea."

Ahead I saw someone, standing with their back to me. I pushed my way through the dream state towards them, speeding up a little.

It was a woman, dressed in white light that draped across her form. Her hair was blue and tied back into a tight bun. I reached out and touched her arm and she turned. Her lips were blue and her eyes were shut, her porcelain skin seemed to glow.

"TARDIS?" I whispered.

"Yes, Tea, it's me," she replied, smiling.

"How can you be here?" I asked.

"I was waiting for you," she responded, "I knew you would need me. We are connected, Tea. But you already knew that."

"Why? How are we connected?"

"You don't remember?"

I shook my head.

"We are sisters."

My eyes flew open and I sat up, gasping for air. Shivering, I looked about myself, trying to bring everything into focus. I was on the floor, in a small, dark room. There was nothing here but a door. With a rush all of the memories from my time trapped with the Krisptick came back to me and I could feel the panic building in my chest.

I stood up shakily and staggered to the door, banging on it with both fists.

"Let me out" I bellowed.

There was silence

Swallowing back a sob, I continued to bang on the wood, hoping that someone would hear me. Then a nasty little thought occurred. What if I was alerting them to me being awake? What if that meant something bad was going to happen to me?

I jumped away from the door, rubbing my hurting fists. Right. Time to take stock of the room.

It was about two meters by two meters and the walls appeared to be concrete. A single bare light bulb hung from the ceiling. The floor was wooden and stained and the door was made of the same kind of wood. There was an impressive looking key-hole on the door.

I moved towards the door and knelt down, looking through the keyhole. Beyond the door was a concrete corridor littered with straw. Confused, I sat back and stared at the door. It seemed like I wasn't on the TARDIS any more.

I couldn't say how long I sat there on the cold floor, but it seemed like an awfully long while before I became aware of the whispering.

It seemed like there was a few people in the room with me, whispering quietly in the corner, their words unintelligible. Occasionally one would laugh. Frowning, I tried to concentrate on the voices but all I could glean was that they sounded like children whispering excitedly.

"Hello?" I called out quietly.

One of the whisperers shushed the others and silence came to the room again.

"Who's there?" I asked, a little louder.

I stood up and paced around the edges of the room, looking for anywhere the voices could have come from, but the concrete was smooth and completely bare. I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes. I was probably going mad.

When I opened my eyes again, there was something in the middle of the room. It took me a moment to focus on it, but when I did I was more confused than before.

Slowly I approached the small cloth doll on the floor. I knelt down and scooped it up in one hand. It was made from some soft material, kid leather or suede with brown horse hair and glass bead eyes. It wore a little blue cotton dress. It was simply made and had the tell tale worn look of all well loved toys. I felt a little pang inside me, as though I recognized the doll. Had it once been mine?

"Play with us," whispered the voices.

I looked around, but there was still no one here.

"How can I, if I can't see you?" I responded.

"Play with us, play with us, play with us," sang the hushed voices.

"I will if you show yourselves!"

The children laughed and I heard a scrabbling noise, as though it was in the walls and the door rattled, as though being shook from the other side.

The laughing rebounded about the room and the scrabbling and scratching got louder, filling my ears with the hellish noise.

"We're coming!" the children screamed.

I clung onto the tiny doll, as though it would protect me from the bad things, closing my eyes tightly and curling up into a ball on the floor. Then as the noises had started, they stopped.

Beneath me felt warmer and soft and on me there was a light weight, a blanket? I kept my eyes closed tight, not daring to open them. It felt like I was in a bed.

There was a clink of springs and the mattress tipped a little to the side as something sat on it. Panting and trembling with fear, I felt like my heart would burst. I clung to the doll, my lifeline. Something stroked my hair. A gentle hand.

"It's alright, darling," said a soft woman's voice, "I'm here. Nightmares again?"

I nodded, keeping my eyes closed, not daring to look or speak.

"Was it the other girls again?" She asked me.

I nodded again.

"But was Molly there this time? Doctor Bleakly taught you how to get her there, didn't he. Was she there this time?"

"M-Molly?" I whispered, my voice sounding different. Younger.

"Yes darling, Molly. Molly your dolly. How can you forget Molly?"

She was right, how could I forget Molly? My best friend, my only companion.

"I... Don't know... She was there..."

"That's good, darling," the woman stroked my hair some more in the silence.

"Mummy?" I whispered, questioningly.

"What is it my love?" she asked.

I couldn't bear it any longer, I had to look, I had to see her face, I had to know who she was. I turned and opened my eyes and-

Brilliant golden light filled my vision and I gasped, covering my eyes, but all I could see was light. And then I was falling through the light, falling down and down, further away from my mother...

With a jolt I sat upright. I gasped for air, my vision still full of golden light. But after a moment my sight returned and I found myself in a small room, laying on the bed that was shoved up against one of the walls. There was a sink against another of the walls and in a small alcove there was a toilet. The walls were white washed apart from the metal door that had a sliding hatch at eye level and also in the middle, presumably for food to be pushed through.

I laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, wishing I could have seen my mother and wondering where Rauwl was.


	15. Transported

I sat for what seemed a long while, trying hard to remember what had happened in the dreams. I remember that TARDIS was there, and my mother... and terrible things in the walls...

What had she meant by the other girls being there? Were they what was in the walls? And TARDIS... what she had said had to be impossible...

I stared at the ceiling, unseeing. How could I be related to a TARDIS? How could we be sisters? It didn't make sense. I didn't understand and for the first time in a long while I wanted the comfort of my mother, whoever she was.

I looked down at my hands. I wished that I had Molly.

A memory stirred as I thought of Molly. A man. A tall man in a white lab coat with big glasses. Doctor Bleakly.

"Now, young one, what is the most comforting thing in your life?... Your dolly?... Concentrate on your dolly... Now we will put you back into the sleep... Remember your dolly..."

I shook my head, bringing myself back to the real world.

There was now the matter of where I was right this moment. Was I still on the TARDIS, or was I somewhere else? Where was Rauwl and was he and Mish still safe? These questions lined themselves up, but I didn't have any answers.

I could hear footsteps in the corridor outside of the room, ringing loudly as they drew nearer and hushed, rushed voices whispering excitedly as they drew closer. They stopped outside of the door and fell silent. I stood up carefully, balling my fists, my thumbs on the outside, ready to fight if I had to.

The door swung inwards, but the figures stayed beyond it so I could not see them. Confused, I wanted to go and investigate, but my senses told me to remain where I was. After a few moments, a male voice spoke.

"We mean you no harm," they said loudly and slowly, "we come in peace."

More confused than before, I tilted my head to the side slightly, moving a little to the side, so that I could easily see the figures in the doorway. There were two people in white lab coats, one female and one male and behind them was a large man in military uniform with a gun.

I stared at them blankly.

"Do you understand us?" asked the woman slowly.

"Of course I do," I snapped, "I'm human, just like you."

The scientists looked at each other briefly, then back at me.

"Can you tell us your name?" asked the woman.

"Tea."

"As in the drink?" asked the man.

"As in the letter. But if it's easier for you to think of it as the drink, then sure."

"Do you think this could be-" whispered the woman excitedly.

"If it is, we have hit the jackpot. Funding for the department will increase a billion fold!"

I watched them, the confusion and the Doctors betrayal turning into anger.

"Excuse me," I growled, "I hate to interrupt your little moment, but I don't know what's going on here and that makes me rather upset. It appears I'm the only person out of the loop. So please, before I get mightily peeved, tell me what is going on. Where am I?"

The pair looked at each other again, briefly.

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you..." trailed off the man.

"You are in one of the Embassy bases, in Sweden," said the woman.

"And what is it that you do exactly?" I asked, my balled fists aching from how tight I held them.

"Unlike many of the other countries, we here try to welcome the alien world. If they are hostile, we send them away. If they are peaceful, we exchange numbers, as it were. We help them, they help us."

"And what exactly is your department?" I asked, relaxing a little.

"We deal with crashes, mostly," said the man, pushing his glasses up his nose, "we don't see a lot of you surviving the impact. But some do. Most of the higher ups think we are just a clean up crew, but now we found you, they have to see we are worth while!"

"What do you mean, 'found me'?"

"You crashed... Or don't you remember?" said the woman.

Momentarily thrown, I shook my head. There were only two crashes I remembered. The one where I burned and the one that brought me to Earth before... To that room...

"We found you in a pod, in the sea, just off the coast."

The Doctor had to be behind this. He must have shoved me in a pod and sent me back to Earth. But at least he must of had some mercy, seeing as he had sent me here. I just wished I had been able to see Rauwl before all this happened.

"What happens now?" I asked, running my fingers through my tangled hair.

"It depends," said the man.

"On what?" How had my hair gotten so tangled?

If you are who we think you are and if the Americans want you back."

I froze in place.

"I am not property," I said very quietly.

"Unfortunately for you, you are considered the property of the province you are in. Right now, you are in our province and we can do what we will with you," said the man.

"I can't believe this," I said, my voice growing louder, "I have just spent days of torture trying to convince the all powerful arses up there that I am not property and now I've been brought back to this? What right do you have over me? I am sentient, I am holding an intelligent conversation and yet you still can't accept that I am just as important as you!"

"Please calm down, or we will have to sedate you," said the woman, looking worried.

"I want to speak to your commander! I demand you bring them to me! I have had enough of this. Bring them to me, now!"

Anger boiled in me, my chest and throat grew hot and my eyes began to burn, gold crackling around my vision.

Then, once again, everything went dark. 

I must have spent a week in that cell, being fed through the hatch and not seeing any of my captors for the entirety of that time. I spent most of it laying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking. Trying to remember. But only little sparks of memory flitted through me, like the smell of dry grass and the burning space craft.

I spent so much time thinking of Rauwl, of what I wanted to say to him, what I needed to tell him. That I might never see him again.

The Doctors betrayal had become a minor thing, now.

Then, at the end of the week, the two people in lab coats returned to my cell. They entered without knocking and stood, staring at me where I lay, gazing up at the ceiling.

"Hello again," I said flatly, "come to check on the prisoner? Well, I must say, the service here is dismal. When can I have a shower?"

They looked at one another, then down at me.

"You can have a shower once you reach the American facility," said the man.

"Excuse me?" I demanded, sitting up, "Don't I have a say in this? What if I don't want to remain on Earth? I am not property!"

"Unfortunately for you, and us, this is down to politics now. We have to hand you over to the Americans," said the woman.

"I thought Sweden was neutral?" I demanded.

"Usually we would be, yes," said the man, "but apparently, the Americans want you back so badly that they are willing to go to war for you."

"Oh, I feel like such a Helen," I said bitterly.

"Are you going to come quietly, or will we have to sedate you again?" sighed the man.

I shrugged, laying back down.

"I'll come peacefully, but I won't be quiet. When are we leaving?"

"Now."

I was strapped into a seat in a private jet with my hands cuffed behind me, beside two rather hench men that looked like someone had shaved a pair of bears and shoved them in a suit. Their temper matched their appearance. The only way I could think to react to this situation was the opposite to how I wanted to. I didn't want to be sedated again.

"So," I said brightly to the one on my left, "seen any good movies lately?"

He didn't respond and continued to look straight ahead.

"Nor have I," I said, "I spent the last three years trapped in a space shuttle as a slave. But hey, no change there, right? Only I'm less likely to be raped on Earth."

Both continued to stare right ahead, but the one on the left shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh, how terribly rude of me!" I said, "Going on about my life when I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Tea."

No response.

"Come on, guys! We have a long flight ahead of us, if I remember correctly. Lets have some fun! How about a game of I-Spy? No?"

I nudged the one on my left.

"Come on, big guy, what's your name? Can't hurt to tell me, can it?"

The one on my right growled a little. I flopped back in my seat.

"Oh come on! I've been locked in a room for a week! No human contact! I've been bored out of my brain. I was getting to the point of eating my bed just for something to do and the factor of not enough fiber in that prison food."

"Romos," rumbled the one on my left, "My name is Romos."

"Don't talk to the prisoner," growled the one on the right.

"She is right, it's going to be a long flight..."

I smiled widely.

When I was escorted off the plane, both myself and the guards were laughing and I was pleasantly surprised by the turn of events. The other guard was called Jameson and he and Romos had been in the military together before being attached to their current sector. They seemed to genuinely enjoy my company, once they had warmed up a bit.

The place we had landed was a small air port in the middle of a large stretch of desert and immediately I started to sweat. I sighed.

"I really wish I could have a shower," I muttered.

We were met by a couple of armed men who guided us to what appeared to be a small tin hut to the side of the runway. The man and woman in lab coats were already waiting for us, to the side of the shack. The door opened as we approached and we all squeezed inside. Once in, one of the armed men swiped a card in a discrete key pad and the base of the shack began to move downwards. I smiled grimly, nudging Romos.

"How long will this take?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"How about that game of I-Spy, then?" I said, starting to enjoy myself, "I'll start, shall I?"

Jameson groaned, but smiled.

"All right, then. I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with... K."

Nobody responded and I huffed a sigh, tapping my foot.

"You know, it's very rude of you lot not to play. I came all this way, from space, to play with you and you're just ignoring me."

I could see Romos shifting uncomfortably, trying not to smile.

"You know, I could get more conversation from a brick wall. Seeing as nobody wants to guess, would you like to know what I spied?"

"No," snapped the man in the lab coat.

"Well excuse me," I said, "I didn't realize you were the boring sort."

"Can you just shut up?" growled the woman.

"Looks like someone didn't take the flight very well. Fine. I'll stop talking."

I lent against Jameson, staring up at the darkness above us, a tiny square of light indicating how far we'd gone down already. How far down were we going?

As though to answer my question, the elevator shuddered to a halt and the door slid open. I was led down a long, winding corridor about five foot wide with many, many doors along it, but we went through none. The doors were heavy and metal and they were making a clear statement. No way in. No way out.

The corridor came to an abrupt end with a flight of stairs that led upwards. I stumbled up the steps, my cuffed hands making me worry that I might fall and smash my face on the concrete. At the top of the twenty steps, there was a short corridor with a door at the end, which was all frosted glass. One of the armed men stepped past me and pushed a buzzer on the side of the door.

"Subject has arrived," they said flatly into the speaker.

The door clicked open and we stepped into a small room with a large glass wall that looked out of a mountain side onto miles of desert. There was a woman dressed in a suit behind a desk and the only way to describe her was sharp. She glared at us, judging us.

"Guards will wait here," she snapped, "Only the Subject and the two Researchers will enter. Go through now, please."

The man and woman took hold of one of my arms each and pulled me to the door just behind the receptionist's desk. The door's lock clicked open and I was forced first into the room beyond.

The room was dimly lit, one wall was a large screen, which was giving out the only light. There was a large wooden desk with a tall chair. In the chair was a very red faced man in military uniform with lots of braid and medals. He was bald and had grey eyes that glared at me. I recognized those eyes. Anger and fear swept through me with that recognition, but I didn't know why.

The man stood, a snarl twisting his lips.

"Well, if it isn't Subject T," he growled.

"I seem to be at a disadvantage, you know my name and yet I don't know yours," I said, a lot calmer than I felt.

"Don't play with me, Subject T," he bellowed, "I have half a mind to send you down to the Chop Shop, alive or not!"

"Why would you want to do that?" I asked, "I haven't done anything to you."

"Haven't done- You are the best and worst thing that ever happened to this base! And now we have you back. Thank you, Researchers. You are dismissed."

"But sir-" began the man.

"Dismissed! Get out! You will get your reward soon enough!"

Grumbling, the two of them left, leaving me with this angry man. I watched him warily, twisting my hands in the cuffs.

"It's been five years since we lost you," he said, standing up, "we had originally thought that you were being picked up by your own kind. But our scan showed that it was Krisptick. We thought you'd be sold and we would never get you back. Just our luck to get you back, huh? Let's hope you have calmed in those five years."

"I really don't know what you are talking about," I said, frustrated, "I can't remember anything."

"We kept your room just the way you left it. And once you get settled in again, we'll let you have some time in the communal rooms. After the tests, of course. We have to make certain you are the Subject T we think you are."

"Tests?" I whispered.

"Just the usual... Don't worry, Subject T," he said, grinning, "we aren't allowed to kill you."

I could feel anger building in me once again.

"I spent three years not being killed," I snarled, "I was raped and beaten black and blue. I know what you mean by not killing me. I won't let this happen to me, not again. I demand you let me go!"

"Not a chance in hell," he grinned.

He came around his desk and put his hand on my upper arm.

"Let's get you to your room, shall we?"

The handcuffs fell to the floor and I swung my fist around, hitting him square on in the face. There was a satisfying crunch and he staggered away, blood spilling from his nose. I barely felt the pain in my knuckles as gold danced around my vision.

"Guards!" he bellowed.

The door burst open and the two armed guards crashed in and pushed me down to the ground, pinning me. I snarled feraly at them, but they paid me no heed.

"Do you need assistance, sir?" rumbled one.

"No. No. Just gebt her do her roomb," he said thickly.

I felt a deep satisfaction at the pain I had caused that frightened me slightly. I didn't have much time to reflect upon it, however, as I was pulled up and taken away.


End file.
